A Policy Change in Solstice Sleep Products (SSP) - Essay Example

A Policy Change in Solstice Sleep Products (SSP) Introduction: An effective organizational policy can have its impact on all aspects of management. Solstice Sleep Products (SSP) that deals with mattress products is one of the emerging companies in this field. With utmost focus on customer service and quality, this company continues to struggle to sustain its position and business due to various issues that are presently affecting its smooth running. This discourse identifies few of these issues from an employee perspective, and tries to suggest policy change that can have a significant impact on employee motivation as well as the business. Further, impact of the new policy on various management functions will be evaluated before concluding with potential benefits of the policy. At SSP, the management levies greater importance to customer service, but pays little attention to human resource management. This imbalance can be regarded as the cause for much dissatisfaction among workers and constant conflicts between management and workers. Workers perform their duties as per their supervisors’ instructions, which usually vary on a daily basis. A few of them work overtime on a continuous basis; these workers usually work overtime to earn some extra income as the worker incomes are not up to the mark considering the nature of their job and the pace of business growth. Imbalanced work allocation, extended working hours, and low wages are also causing increased stress, frustration and low motivation among workers. In order to improve the situation and bring about harmonious working condition, it is important to change the way management has been functioning. Numerous measures would be required for effective human resources management, which may be difficult to implement at once; however, one significant change that could address many issues is introduction of an effective performance management system. A new policy that could be of great benefit for SSP is the introduction of a comprehensive performance management system can be of great significance for the business as well as the management and workers. Performance management system can be used to measure productivity on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Moreover, individuals’ current and past performance can be used as the basis for their career progression, which will ensure that the supervisors and team leaders are well versed with the work being performed. Moreover, good performers can be encouraged for taking up additional responsibilities like training, supervision, guidance etc, which will not only improve the workers’ motivation but also help in building trust in management’s decision. The performance management system should include appraisal systems that need to be conducted half-yearly and annually for deciding pay hikes for the workers. Performance management system should also include rewards and recognition for the top performing workers, and feedback mechanism for the underperforming workers to improve. If promotions and career progression are linked with performance, it would be of great value to the business and to the workers. A comprehensive performance management will have a significant impact on various management functions in the long run, as well as has the capability to show its immediate impact. For instance, number of workers required for specific activity can be assessed by studying workers’ performance and productivity. Moreover, staff can be planned as per work volume or production demand if we can assess each worker’s ability. Depending upon the time taken to perform each activity, targets and expectations can be set, thereby avoiding the need for extended working hours. Based on the skills and efficiency of workers, work can be organized into various different units, from simpler tasks to complex ones. The new workers or unskilled workers can be appointed for simpler tasks; and the skilled and experienced workers may be moved to perform complex activities. This will not only improve efficiency but also workers’ motivation and self-esteem. Workers will also be highly motivated to perform better in order to be eligible to perform complex activities. Management at SSP can also decide varying wages for workers depending upon the complexity and skills required for the work. From staffing perspective, planning related to the number of workers required for completion of specific activity, or to meet specific demand, may be used for allocating appropriate number of workers to different activities. A historical data of worker performance will help in staffing activities. A comprehensive performance management system will provide a good platform for supervisors and team leaders to lead their teams effectively through targets, expectations, and by encouraging the right behavior from workers. Performance management will also help in earning workers’ trust in their leadership and management teams, which will reduce conflicting situations to a large extent. Workers’ motivation levels will improve with an increase in constructive interaction with their supervisors and managers through appraisal discussions and feedback sessions. Rewards and recognition driven by performance will also uplift their motivation and commitment. Appropriate distribution of work through planning, organizing and staffing will help in reducing work-related stress thereby helping the workers maintain their work-life balance. Future leaders can be identified and developed by considering performance as one of the metrics, which will not only improve the workers’ commitment and performance but also their trust in leadership. Performance-driven management will help managers in exercising better control with lesser conflicts. This will also improve the management’s as well as the workers’ focus towards production and service instead of concentrating on conflicts, work volume and pressures and other issues that affect the overall business. Mapping specific number of workers to specific supervisors will help in better span of control, which can be determined by segregating work processes based on their complexity and capacity requirements. Performance-driven culture will also help in delivering better customer service besides improving productivity and efficiency. In conclusion, this proposal to formulate and implement a comprehensive performance management system should be considered by the SSP management in order to improve the current situation, which will mutually benefit the management as well as the workers without any risk of creating unions or giving rise to conflicts. In general, the performance management will assist in improving employee and management focus, productivity and customer service. Moreover, this will help in improving employee morale and commitment, which is the need of this hour. Besides customer service and profits, SSP can create better environment for its employees that will not only value this employment but also aim for better learning and growth opportunities. Performance management will have its best impact on leadership function, which will improve workers’ relationship with the management and their commitment towards the company. Read More