Current problems in the transportation sector
Discuss About The Journal Of Managerial Psychology Management.
Human resource is considered to be an essential part of any organization. The employees are considered to be an integral part of an organization and it is for this reason that the human resource department of an organization should be such that the employees are managed well within the realm of the organization and they are able to successfully ensure that the employees work in an environment which allows them adequate growth prospects and helps them in their career development (Knies et al., 2017).
However, this is not possible for the organizations to ensure and there are various firms who are unable to manage their human resource department carefully. Managing the employees is a tough task which all the companies are not well prepared for. The transportation sector is one of the most crucial industries present in the given business environment. The use of transportation is done in every industry which makes it an integral industry itself (Ciziuniene, Vaiciute, & Batarliene, 2016). Although this has been identified, the transportation sector is unable to manage its employees carefully and unable to retent the talent. The given essay follows a structured outline whereby the concept of attracting and retaining employees in the Transportation Sector will be discussed. The first part of the essay will be discussing the current human resource problems in the transportation sector followed by the reasons behind the problem (Nigam et al., 2011). The latter sections of the essay will be discussing the various strategies that the transportation industry can employ in order to manage talent and retent the employees. Lastly certain recommendations shall be provided for the same and measures to improve this shall be provided.
Although the hiring and turnover rates have been increasing considerably in the transport sector, the employers have been facing challenges with respect to the attraction and retention of employees with respect to the ones who are high performers and highly potential in nature.
Furthermore, the employees in the given industry do not understand the importance of why employees want to stay in a company and how to make them retent (Cascio, 2018). The employers in the given industry are totally unaware of the different techniques and measures of how to retent employees. They undermine the importance of human resource in an organization and this is the primary reason why the different companies are losing out on good and potential employees. The Tower Watson Company had conducted a Global Talent Management and Rewards Survey with the help of which it found that around 48% of the employers in the transportation sector have increased their hiring activities as compared to the previous year. Additionally, the turnover rate has also been rising and has increased to around 35%.
Reasons behind the problem
According to Alfes et al. (2013),as the talent mobility s on a rise, the employees are required to understand the employee value and why is it important to retent and employ in the field of transport which is a fairly service company. Service organizations need to deal with the customers directly and this makes it important for them to employ employees who are capable enough and to ensure that they remain with the Organization for a long period of time of time (Pantouvakis & Karakasnaki, 2017). However, there are various disconnects between the employers and the employee which might lead to the problem especially with respect to attraction and retention.
This may be due to the reason that although employees realize that the primary reason why an employee wants to stay in an organization is due to the pay and career development, they do not take into consideration the job security aspect which is one of the highest attention and retention drivers. Secondly the trust and confidence which the employees place on senior leadership also plays a key role of a retention driver.
The transportation sector lacks this job security factor which further leads to the reasons why these organizations are unable to retent and attract the employees because they see no scope for a future in the company (Brewster, 2017). Furthermore, due to the competitive nature of the industry the management of different organizations are primarily considered about the profit making capacity of the company but not concerned with the welfare of the employees (Azmi, 2011). However, the employees place extreme trust on the senior leadership and it is important for the company to ensure that they keep up with the given trust aspect which is one of the most responsible factors for the idea of employee retention (Oborilová, Myšková & Melichar, 2015).
Another reason why such a problem is being faced by the organization relates to the problem of career blockage. A stated earlier when employees do not feel valued and development prospects look weak, they tend to leave the organizations which posts as a problem.
There are various reasons why the given problem occurs. The reasons have been discussed as follows.
Long working hours. The working hours in the transport sector are too long because of customer demand and uncertainty of business in the given domain (Kramer, 2011). The customers want services as per their convenience and this is the reason why the employees often have to wok beyond their shift. This causes inconvenience in the given scenario and due to the lack of a proper work life balance the employees think that they will not be able to manage and the retention and turnover rate of the industry gets affected considerably (Kucharcikova & Miciak, 2017).
Strategies to improve the retention and attraction of employees in the transportation sector
Lack of growth. The lack of growth prospects as stated earlier develops a belief among the different employees that as they do not have any scope in the business future, this is the reason why they leave the organization and look out for better opportunities in their domain.
Lack of a proper payment structure .The payment structure and the salary package in the given scenario is not an adequate one. For this reason, the employees are not satisfied with the pay they receive as they are not sufficient enough to fulfill all their requirements (Kramar, 2014). It is for this reason then that the employees tend to remove their trust from the management and do not work diligently (Condrey & Ledvinka, 2010). Eventually they leave the organization
Hazards of health and injury. The transportation sector is a risky industry where accidents and other mishaps are a common aspect of the given organization (Bratton & Gold, 2017). It is for this reason that the employees leave the industry as they do not want to risk their life for a job. Furthermore, due to chances of additional costs, the organization is not willing to pay insurance costs for the different customers which then leads to problems and the people start leaving.
Lack of Job security. The job security in the given industry is quite low. The transport sector is highly volatile and for this reason, the security of job is minimum (Kidron et al., 2013). A major reason why the organizations have a higher turnover rate and lower retention rate is because of the given factor as this leads to the employee belief that they can be terminated at any point of time and for this reasons they do not want to contribute for the scope of the organization.
Although the condition of the industry with respect to the retention and attraction of staff is very poor, the firm can take the given steps to ensure that the retention and the attraction of the employees improves considerably.
The first strategy is to ensure that the organization looks beyond skills and competencies and starts giving relative importance to the company fit (Knies et al., 2014). Although skills tend to form an integral part of the culture of the organization and contribute to ensuring that the organization is filled with eligible people, it is important to ensure that the employees fit into the culture (Tang et al., 2014). Once the employees fit in strategically to the culture of the organization, they are likely to stay with the organization for a longer period of time.
The second strategy involves maximizing the use of apprenticeship program. It is important for the transportation sector to connect with the Industry Training Authority in order to ensure that the students can take part in considerable apprenticeship program. This shall ensure that the firm is getting enough employees for the purpose of training and for ensuring that the employees feel comfort table in the long run (Aksentijevic, Tijan & Marinkovic, 2015).
The third strategy to ensure employee retention and talent attraction the companies in the transportation sector can make use of national and provincial channel to promote the job opportunities which are present in the firm. Various industries including the transportation have a body which promotes the job vacancies. Hence, the step can be adopted.
One of the main problems being faced presently in the transport sector is the difficult work schedule and other lack of work life balance hence, in order to improve this aspect, the company can form job roles in the organization which offers flexible work schedules. These jobs can allow the employees to work at their convenience and is guaranteed to help retention of employees.
The next strategy involves formation of an employee orientation program which shall contribute towards the formation of an employee policy, practice and other procedures which help the employees to get accustomed to the organization in an easy manner. It is believed that in case the employees in the organization are encouraged during the orientation phase then they are easily able to stay in the organization for a longer period of time.
An employee recognition program goes a long way in ensuing that there exists enough opportunities and place for peer recognition which will assist the employees (Batarliene et al., 2017). Motivation has a key role to play in any relationship whether corporate or social and therefore it becomes increasingly important for the organization to engage in recognition practices which will allow the employees to feel valued.
The next strategy which may be adopted by the transportation sector is the mentorship program. People in the transport sector often do not feel a part of the organization because they are unknown to the different factors in the workplace and are often clueless about the different activities. Hence, the formation of a mentor ship program with the new employees and pairing them with the existing employees would go a long way in helping them to build camaraderie among the different staff members. This will also relive the different employees of the pressure of starting a new job opportunity and enabling them to work towards the welfare of the organization.
Another strategy being suggested for the given problem of employee retention and talent attraction is creating stronger manager and employee relationship in an organization. There should be the process of an employee purpose atmosphere in an organization whereby the manager acts as a coach and contributes towards the welfare of the employees. Lastly, the cultural sensitivity in an organization should be upheld and the environment of a multi cultured workplace needs to be prospered (Oborilová, Myšková & Melichar, 2015).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it could be observed that human resource tends to play a great role in an organization and it is very important for an organization to ensure that they engage in efficient employee practices which helps in retention and talent attraction. Although high turnover rates and lower retention rates contribute towards the reputation of the organization, it also brings about additional costs to the different transport companies. Hence, the organizations in the transport sector should ensure that the firm takes considerable step towards the retention of employees and sees to it that any employee in the organization has sufficient facilities which enable them to prosper in the realm of the firm.
Hence, the given essay outlined the problem structure and defined the causes of the problem prevalent in the given industry with respect to the employee retention and talent attraction, Furthermore, different strategies which can be used by the firm in order to ensure that the employees remain with the firm for a longer time period has also been suggested.
Given below are certain strategies which can be adopted by the firm to ensure that they can improve their overall human resource department in the organization. This will enable the different employees to remain with the firm for a longer time period and ensure that they can contribute towards the long term welfare of the organization.
Implement in a good hr. department. The value of a good human resource department in an organization cannot be undermined. The organization must have a good human resource team which shall help the organization in managing its relationship with the different employees. Although the work of a transport sector is considered to be very mechanical, employing a human resource department can come in useful.
Attractive compensation packages. The salary packages which are offered to the different employees should be such that they are able to attract the employees. The salary package which is offered to the different employees should be according to the industrial standards and in relation to other industries as well so that the employees stay in or a longer time period.
Non-monetary benefits. The employees in an organization often remain in the firm because of the non-mentor benefits being provided to the different members of the organization. These benefits include benefits like housing, education, health care and other so as to make them feel valued and an efficient part of the organization. Many employees who are paid low, often tend to believe that they can work in the organization for a longer period of time because of the extra benefits which are expensive and may consume a huge portion of their salary. Hence in case the organization is able to provide the different employees with extra benefits, it will be beneficial for the parties.
Performance management .The transport sector companies need to conduct regular performance management sessions. The management of the performance in an organization helps the employees to perceive the given firm in a new light and they start believing that the firm is considerate about their work and future career development. As a good review on performance management, may contribute towards promotions, this serves as an indirect motivator to the employees and they are encouraged considerably.
Job security. One of the major reasons why people join a firm is because of the job security it offers. It was observed previously that firms are unable to provide the different organizational members with adequate job security and hence this is considered to be reason why the different employees tend to leave the organization. Therefore, it has been suggested that if the organization wants the employees to remain with the firm for a longer time frame and attract new talent, it needs to provide job security to the different employees. Job security can be provided with the help of an agreement which seals the deal for both the ends that the different workers will continue to work for a longer time period.
Therefore, as the transport sector environment is very volatile ensuring the given recommendations are taken by any firm will help in successful employee relations.
References
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