Task 1: HRM and the HR function
The study has been developed to identify the existing Human Resource Management process of Palermo Safe Storage and the ways to improve the current functions of the management style. By hiring new HR Manager, the study involves a number of practices and policies that will influence the overall productivity of HRM. The reported paper explains the HRM and role of HRM functions leading to success. Also, the study demonstrates the purpose of HR planning that will lead towards innovative skills and management competencies.
Furthermore, the paper evaluates the contribution of training and development program to improving the ultimate performance of the firm. Affirmatively, the study explains the change management and the use of HR model to attaining success (Chermack and Lynham, 2012). Additionally, the study determines the employment legislations to be considered in the HR practices of the firm for suitable workplace management. Lastly, the study has suggested ways leading to globalisation that can be utilised to sustaining the futuristic growth of Palermo Safe Storage.
The term Human Resource Management (HRM) can be defined as the formal system that has been utilised by the modern organisations to management workforce. The role of HRM has determined the three aspects of management i.e. recruitment and selection, employee compensation, and designing work responsibilities (Williams, 2012). The existing HRM strategy of Palermo Safe Storage is based on the mission statement of the organisation that clearly states “Our People Our Future”. In the recent times, due to intense management pressure, the HRM of Palermo Safe Storage has failed to deliver effective policies and practices suitable for employees. Therefore, the restructuring of HRM and HR strategies should be done so that the management of the firm must offer the best recruitment and selection process, employee benefits plan and most substantial design for the workforce. Leading to the functions of the HRM, the management must ensure that each of the department is equipped with well-versed human resources (Deadrick and Stone, 2014). Meanwhile, the HRM needs to select the best expertise so that various HRM disciplines i.e. training and career development, selection and recruitment of staff members, compensation and benefits packages, payroll, workplace safety, and workplace regulations should be performed according to the business objectives of the firm.
By identifying the four broad functional areas of HRM, the management must set common objectives so that employees’ knowledge, skills, and competencies can be influenced as per the organisational targets. Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the HRM to stimulate career development of an employee leading towards organisational productivity. Under the current circumstances of Palermo Safe Storage HRM, recruitment strategy, compensation and benefits packages, employee rights, workplace regulations and ethics, overtime issues, and health and safety issues must be dealt with the highest priority (Kirton and Greene, 2011). Meanwhile, the HR policies such as latest hiring strategy, marketing concept, health and safety measures, etc. must be aligned to the overall mission and vision statements of the organisation so that the HRM can effectively participate in the growth of the business. By developing effective human resource management, HR Manager can create sustainable working relationships with the employees creating a maximum development of individual staff.
Task 2: HR Planning
A comprehensive HR planning process is conducted to cover various essential responsibilities and goals for the business that include recruitment of talented workers, administration of human resource policies, management of payroll and benefits and implementation of effective training and development programmes. Hence, HR planning helps to address both strategic and tactical needs of the organisation (Quintanilla and Ferner, 2013).
HR planning is quite important for Palermo Safe Storage to identify the human resource management issues and develop proper strategies to overcome the problems. The importance of HR planning for Palermo Safe Storage has been discussed herein below:
- HR planning helps to management day to day staffing issues.
- Develop strategies in compliance with the government rules and regulations.
- HR planning helps the company grow by implementing advanced recruitment and training tactics.
- Finally, HR planning helps to plan the evaluation metrics to evaluate the performance of the HR activities.
The traditional HRP approach focuses on considering the internal environment of the organization, while planning the HR policies. On the other hand, the contemporary HRP approach primarily focuses on the external environment as well as internal objectives to plan the HR management policies (Breaugh, 2008). A mixture of both the approaches can be helpful to determine the internal demand for labour of Palermo Safe Storage. Meanwhile, the contemporary approaches can be used to analyse the surrounding labour market to access the availability of talented workers. Hence, both the approaches can be used together to identify the skills and competencies required for the planned HR changes in Palermo Safe Storage.
What needs to be planned?
- Recruitment and selection:The HR planning needs to consider the traditional recruitment and selection process used in the firm. Innovative technology can be implemented in the recruitment and selection plan to improve the productivity and efficiency of the process.
- Health and safety measures:The management of Palermo Safe Storage needs to plan a better health and safety measures for the employee to be safe from legal obligations.
- Training and development program:A training and development program must be planned to motivate the employees and improve their skills and competencies.
- Compensation and benefit packages:A better compensation and benefit package must be planned to retain the best talent in the organisation.
- Flexible work arrangement:A flexible working arrangement must be planned to increase the productivity and satisfaction level of the employees.
- Right to participate in trade union:The management must develop an HR policy handbook to make the employees aware of the rules and regulations of the organisation. On the other hand, necessary changes must be made in terms of right to participate in the trade union after considering the rules and regulations of the government.
Training and development is an essential part of human resource management. Training is conducted to improve the skills and capabilities of the employees to improve their performance in the short run (Gill, 2012). On the other hand, development programmes are implemented to prepare the employees for future challenges to meet the long run goals of the firm. The suggested training and development programmes along with its contributions and implications have been discussed in the underlying sections.
The training and development programmes that can be implemented by Palermo Safe Storage are discussed in the underlying sections:
- On-the-Job Training:The on-the-job training methods include coaching, job rotation, mentoring, job instructional techniques, apprenticeship and understudy tactics to make the employees learn while performing in their jobs. It is a way of learning from others by observing the ways in which other employees handles the situations (Ylöstalo, 2016).
- Off-the-Job Training:The off-the-job is conducted to develop new skills and knowledge in the employee. This method includes lectures, conferences, simulation exercises, sensitivity training and transactional analysis.
The importance and contribution of new training and development programme has been presented herein below:
- Motivation:Training and development makes the employees feel motivated and connected to the firm.
- Job Satisfaction:The higher motivation level increases the job satisfaction of the employees.
- Performance:Training and development helps in improving the performance of the organization.
- Career development opportunities:T&D provides career development opportunities to the employees by allowing them to accept better roles and responsibilities.
- Build skills and competencies:T&D helps in building the skills and competencies of the employees to accept future challenges.
The implications of new training and development programme on Palermo Safe Storage have been presented herein below:
- Remove workplace conflicts:Training and development makes the employees aware of the on-going process and policies of the firm. Hence, it will reduce the chances of workplace conflicts in Palermo Safe Storage (Chermack, 2014).
- Increase productivity:With the development of skills and competencies of the employees, the productivity level of Palermo Safe Storage will develop.
- Increase employee retention:Training and development increases the loyalty of the employees towards the firm. It helps the employees to feel satisfied and motivated that will further reduce the employee turnover rate for Palermo Safe Storage.
By considering the case study, the management of Palermo Safe Storage needs to make several changes in its HR policies that are quite important for the survival of the business in the long run (Parry, 2011). Significantly, Palermo Safe Storage must manage the changes properly in order to successfully achieve its targeted goals. Hence, the recommended change management strategy has been discussed in details in the underlying sections.
Task 3: Training and Development
According to the case study, Palermo Safe Storage needs both transactional as well as transformational changes to survive and seek success in the current market scenario. The recommended changes will enhance the satisfaction level of the employees and motivate them to give their best in the job (Roper, Chatrakul Na Ayudhya and Prouska, 2010). The changes will help the firm to reduce its costs and increase its productivity in order to enhance the profitability of the business.
The Burke and Litwin’s Change Model comprises of twelve drivers of organisational change that must be considered by the management. A figure has been presented herein below for further consideration:
On the basis of the above figure, the change process has been discussed as follows:
- External environment:Palermo Safe Storage must consider the external market factors such as competition, economic growth and legislations while implementing the changes.
- Mission and strategy:The mission and strategy of Palermo Safe Storage must be considered while planning and implementing the HR policy changes.
- Leadership:Palermo Safe Storage must consider the attitudes and behaviours of the senior management team while planning and implementing the changes.
- Organisational culture:The organisational culture must be developed according to the planned changes to implement the transformation effectively.
- Structure:The management of Palermo Safe Storage must implement a horizontal organisation structure to improve the communication process for the successful implementation of the changes.
- Management practices:It is important to check the effectiveness of the managers to comply with the changed organisation’s strategy in order to successfully deal with the employees and resources (Coetzee and Martins, 2009).
- Systems:Palermo Safe Storage must make changes in its policies and procedures to effectively manage it people and operations.
- Work unit climate:The management must observe the thoughts of the employees regarding the current operations of the firm and the future changes.
- Task and individual skills:In this process, the management of Palermo Safe Storage must evaluate the jobs and develop the skills and knowledge of the employees to fulfil the task responsibilities of the position.
- Individual needs and values:The management of Palermo Safe Storage must explore the opinion of the employees in order to enhance job satisfaction and enrichment.
- Motivation:The management of Palermo Safe Storage must identify the motivation level of the employees to know how effectively the changes can be implemented.
- Individual and organisational performance:The final dimension takes into account the performance of the individual and the organisation as a whole to evaluate the success of the implemented changes.
Several restrictions will be faced by the management of Palermo Safe Storage while implementing the changes. Hence, an active participation of the stakeholders is required to effectively implement the changes. In order to make the employees satisfied with the changes, the management must implement a better communication strategy to communicate the ideas about the changes with the employees. Furthermore, the feedbacks of the employees must be collected and observed in order to mitigate the resistance.
In the HRM, employment legislation must be taken into account in order reduce different costs associated with not following the regulatory directives. The management of Palermo Safe Storage should evaluate the importance of understanding the role of employment legislation to lead the workforce according to the legal instructions. Most importantly, in recruitment and selection, compensation and wage system, workplace safety, union and employee rights, dismissal strategies, strict law and regulation of employees must be followed to avoid any legal obligations and penalty. Most importantly, by developing HR practices according to the legal compliance, Palermo Safe Storage management can create sustainability in business.
During the recruitment and selection strategy of Palermo Safe Storage management, the Equality Act 2010 and ACAS Code of Practice must be evaluated in a detailed way to avoid any illegal decision-making. The Equality Act 2010 has voted for equal pay scheme for employees working in the same job position. At the same time, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits any discrimination during hiring and dismissal policy based on age, religion, gender, disability, and/or status (Openshaw and Boyle, 2012). Notably, the Equality Act 2010 encourages equal pay structure, gender equality, and equal distribution of job responsibility protecting the rights of employees as well as employers.
Task 4: Change Management
On the other hand, the ACAS Code of Practice has been identified as the disciplinary and grievance process that must be followed to reduce employee grievances and disciplinary actions. Precisely, the ACAS Code of Practice is a guideline for the HR Policy makers so that in the case of any issues regarding employees and disciplinary actions can be solved by following the code of practices (Richardson, 2010). Understandably, the ACAS Code of Practice has helped to address formal complaints of the employees so that workplace safety, discipline and grievances can be protected and resolved.
Meanwhile, by considering the current issue of dismissal of employees due to attempting for developing trade union and other health and safety issues must be considered on the basis of employment legislations and regulatory directives. Ideally, the wages and salary of the employees must be distributed according to the regulations of the Equality Act 2010. Moreover, the rights of the employees and dismissal policy of the firm must be revised so that any legal obligation can be ignored (Hoch and Dulebohn, 2013). Decisively, in defining the health and safety measures of the employees, new regulations must be created according to the ACAS Code of Practice so that any of the employees cannot file a complaint against the management regarding violation of employment legislation.
The term globalisation denotes integration of corporate operations, strategies and procurement so that diverse culture, workforce, distinct services, and target demographics can be managed in an effective way (Lawler and Boudreau, 2009). As the modern enterprises put the value on diversity, globalisation has made a significant impact on the HRM functions. Meanwhile, by understanding the effect of globalisation, modern HRM can improve performance and market sustainability. Alternatively, international HRM can be referred to the entire umbrella that manages each and every aspect of HR at the international level (Harvey, Speier and Novicevic, 2010). For instance, global HRM functions including hiring practices and outsourcing process on the basis of international scale.
By considering the existing HRM status of Palermo Safe Storage, the link between globalisation and international HRM must be evaluated for organisational success in the longer run (Mendenhall and Oddou, 2010). Precisely, globalisation has created the opportunity for business to hire employees and workers through outsourcing jobs. Thus, the organisation can improve the productivity and performance standards. Notably, the global HRM has managed the entire procedure of hiring employees from outsourcing (Berman, 2015). During globalisation, the business ideas can be transformed between the countries as workers and employees can be transported from one place to another. Thus, the exciting outcome in management can be found. On a broader perspective, globalisation has increased the chances of hiring the best talents following the HR planning and employment regulations of the countries.
Task 5: Employment Legislation
In the case of Palermo Safe Storage, the management of the firm can utilise the concept of outsourcing to increase the productivity of HRM. Moreover, by implementing latest ideas in recruiting and selection as well as in training and development, the organisation can set up most appropriate core competencies suitable for the value chain of the business. Meanwhile, the new ideas and strategies of employees will certainly add significant value to the business structure of Palermo Safe Storage leading towards sustainable growth in business (Lussier and Hendon, 2016). Decisively, the organisation can take full advantage out of globalisation to influence the growth model. Primarily, the international HRM will be the key to draw significant benefit.
Conclusion
By considering the above analysis, the management of Palermo Safe Storage needs to make several changes in its HR policies and procedures. Significantly, there is a need of proper HR planning process in order to develop adequate HR strategies. Furthermore, the firm needs an effective training and development program to improve the satisfaction level of the workers and retain them back in the organisation. Additionally, the management of Palermo Safe Storage must plan the organisation change adequately in order to successfully implement the new HR strategies. On the other hand, Palermo Safe Storage must consider several rules and regulations including the Equality Act 2010 and ACAS Code of Practice while developing its HR policies. Finally, Palermo Safe Storage must observe the trend in the global HRM in order to seek sustainable growth of business.
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