Human Resources Planning Issues and Methods - Case Study Example

External Environment 1A. Labor Markets Burden Bearings Corporation has urgent requirement of approximately 125 new hourly workers. The company has significant opportunity to expand its business. So, it needs to increase the current production level. The company needs this huge number of hourly workers to get within one year to attain its short term, as well as long term, business objectives. The company has recently recognized that the local labor market has been facing unemployment rate at an unprecedented low level of about 2.6 percent which is a good opportunity for them. This unemployment scenario in the local market creates sufficient labor availability, or labor supply, for the company. But this might not be the ultimate solution for the company as it needs trained or experienced people. Other challenge the company is facing is that the workforce has become out of shape and average age of the workforce is 45 which is not at all effective for standard productivity. Apart from the low productivity due to this out of shape workforce, it also needs to cover health cost of this aging workforce which is very high. So, overall wage cost has become very high and sometimes it becomes higher than the value of the output they provide. Workers become sick frequently and this also reduces the productivity. To counter these challenges, the company needs to restructure its human resource policies. Firstly, the type of work of this manufacturing company requires physical labor and younger workers can provide this better than aged people. So, the company needs to reduce the retirement age of the hourly workers of 45. The existing employees should be asked to take voluntary retirement against some amount of money at a time, excluding their current salaries. This is only the way through which the company might reduce the aging workforce and recruit new younger workers. 1B. Technology All manufacturing companies need technological advancement for better productivity and maintaining competitive quality of the products. Workers are responsible for maintaining these two important factors of any business. Generally, workforce has a natural urge to resist change in the organization, especially changes in technology used. Resistance to change is one of the most common challenges of organizations. Burden Bearings needs a workforce that is not only able to perform technical procedures, like grinding metals, but is also conversant with computerized numerical controls. The company is going to rebuild and upgrade machineries used in manufacturing processes, but the existing workforce is not likely to accept this change in technology because they need to acquire new skills for efficient using these high technology machineries. The company needs to recruit trained employees who have experience of using advanced technology as much as possible. But highly trained employees are not freely available in the market as they have higher demand among the organizations. So, alternative option that remains for the company is that it can organize training and development program for the existing employees, as well as for the newcomers (CS Faculty, n.d.). 1. Job Analysis 2A. Type of Job Analysis Job analysis is one of the most important and mostly practiced activities of human resource department in all organizations. For job analysis, HR professionals need to acquire knowledge about each particular category of jobs. Developing job profile, job descriptions, and even total recruitment process requires in-depth knowledge of expertise requirement and output from a particular category of job. So, online database of different job portals can provide information of skills, knowledge, actual work, standard output and also details about local compensation based on average industry standard etc. All these parameters are very much essential for the developing of a job description and the conduct of recruitment process for different categories of jobs. There are two traditional methods of job analysis. One is task oriented and another is people oriented, or worker oriented, job analysis. Task oriented job analysis is comparatively stricter and it might limit team output due to nearly zero flexibility among the employees. This type of job analysis focuses on task statement, task dimension and task importance for doing a particular job. The required task for a particular job is analyzed on the basis of quality required, extent of difficulties and time needed for completion of that job. So, this helps the human resource department in developing job description and job specification. These are very critical areas of recruitment process of new employees for a job. Again, people oriented job analysis focuses on knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences of individual employees and develops the requirements of these attributes for doing a specific job. This type of job analysis helps to develop job description and job specification by comparing KSAOs with STAR theory of a specific job. Situation, assigned task, required action and desired result from a particular job are considered to conduct people oriented job analysis. So, combination of these two analyses will be helpful for conducting job analysis of Barden Bearings. The company requires changes in working procedures due to technology advancement. For this purpose, it needs changes in the job specification also, i.e. knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal and behavioral characteristics of employees. So, a mix of these two categories will assess the actual requirements of workers (JPK, n.d.). 2B. Sources of Information and Data Collection Methods Major types of job analysis methods require wide range of information and very detailed information from different areas. Most common and essential information is represented by details of work activities, like description, interface, procedures etc; technology advancement, like machines, tools, equipments etc; job context, like work scheduled of the employees, working environment, financial and nonfinancial incentives etc; personal description of the employees, like skills, knowledge, abilities, experiences, physical characteristics etc. These important types of information are collected from different sources through efficient sourcing processes. Companies appoint job analysts to assess critical information of the workforce which is intangible in nature. Job incumbents are the major source of information. Information required for job analysis is critical to assess efficiently because this process requires in-depth observation of the workforce. Supervisors of different teams are assigned for generating information in detail from each of the teams they supervise. Subject matter experts review the efficient source of information regarding job analysis information. Different effective methods are used to collect information required for job analysis efficiently. Observation is one of the most common methods of data collection. This method is mostly applicable for manufacturing companies, especially for the lower division workers or physical workers. This method would be effective for Burden Bearings as it has been facing problems with the hour basis physical workers. Interviewing of groups or individual provides essential information that is intangible in nature. Interview can be structured and unstructured. Questionnaires and checklists methods are also effective for collecting some specific information as this method presents direct questions and requires specific answers. Other methods include dairy log where the managers keep track of employees work related behaviour at critical incidents (Sing, 2003, p.5). 2D. Trends in Job Analysis Recent trend of job analysis in different organizations shows that they focus on specific requirements of divisional labor. Traditional job analysis methods assess basic and common findings from the analysis which are not much effective in terms enhancing the productivity of the organization. So, recent strategic job analysis refers to finding the gap of actual work needed and current output. The objective of job analysis is to fulfill this gap effectively to get maximum output from the workforce by recruiting most efficient expertise that works for specific or narrow task oriented job. 2. HR Planning – Aging Workforce 3A. Human Resource Planning Purpose of human resource planning is to develop systematic planning for efficient sourcing and optimum use of organization’s most valuable assets, i.e. manpower or workforce. Efficient sourcing of employees ensures that organization has sufficient access of efficient labor through various resources that help an organization to get sufficient employees and also right employees to carry out various work activities of the organization. Three most important elements of human resource planning are forecasting future demand of labor, evaluating present strength of labor supply and balance between projected labor supply and demand. Roles and responsibilities of human resource triad are to ensure sufficient access of labor whenever required and effective utilization of workforce to get optimum output for the organization. Forecasting of staffing needs involves the analysis of current economic situation, business expansion opportunities in near future, financial stability of the company, forecasted demand of product and services etc. Evaluation of productivity of existing workforce is required to estimate turnover rate of employees. Evaluation of current labor supply strength of organization involves two major processes: evaluating internal workforce and analysis of current labor market scenario. Labor market analysis involves demographic analysis like age, knowledge, skill, experiences etc of the available workforce in the market. Current unemployment rate, state and federal government laws and regulations also may influence the supply of labor. Finally, balancing supply and demand of labor is the most important step of human resource planning. Strategic planning for attracting new potential workers will depend on the deficiency, as well as saturation or change in the current workforce of the organization (Jackson, & Scheuler, 1990, p.226). 3B. Talent Management and Leadership Development Plans Aging workforce of Burden Bearings is one of the major challenges of the organization. Average age of the workforce is 45, which is not at all effective for a manufacturing company where physical fitness is most essential, especially for the hourly workers. So, the company needs major change in the workforce. But it is not possible for this organization to ask all the aged employees to leave the company at a time. Getting substitute youth workers of huge number is also very tough in a competitive labor market. So, the company can devise leadership development plan for the human resource managers who need to strategically reduce this workforce slowly on the basis of lower performance and at the same time, recruit new potential workers. Talented management in the workforce retains the most efficient employees with the efficient leadership qualities of the senior management and also the human resource managers. 3. Recruiting 4A. Sources – External Labor Market Organizations do have access to both local or regional labor markets, as well as different external markets. But when an organization has limited access to the regional labor market, it can grab the opportunity of the external labor market where availability of potential expertise might be sufficient to fulfill company’s actual demand of workforce. External labor market analysis can help Burden Barings assess the availability of trained workers in the external markets. Major technology advancement in the production process and change in workforce will require major supply of new young workers. The company has recognized that current unemployment rate in the local labor market is due to availability of skilled labor in the market. It is also the result of declining demand of unskilled labor of other organizations. So, to sustain in a competitive business, the environment requires increasing productivity. So, the company needs to assess external marker opportunities. For this purpose, it needs to tie up with the recruitment agencies of domestic, as well as international, markets that provide skilled labor to different organizations around the world. Though it will increase operational cost regarding human resource activities, the company can access sufficient skilled labor from various locations. This can satisfy the main objective of human resource planning (Aitken, 1993, p.19). 4B. Applicant’s Perspective Recruitment effort in Burden Bearings can be helpful by both organization’s perspective and applicant’s perspective recruitment process. But, applicant’s perspective would be more effective in the current scenario of labor market and the existing workforce of the organizations where people are still working who joined the organization right after its establishment. In applicant’s perspective recruitment process, the job seekers evaluate the needs of workers to match their capabilities, skills and knowledge with the requirements of the organization. Applicants engage in information gathering of different job requirements to assess most suitable roles and responsibilities that they have been offered. Organizations also provide information considering overall organizational culture that need to be reflected through job description and job specification. The applicants also get attracted and retain with those organizations that have good work culture and working environment. So, from an applicant’s perspective, recruitment process involves one most crucial stage where individual information is sought by the organizations to fit best with the individual skills and knowledge. References Aitken, R.L.K. (1993). Human Resources Planning: Issues and Methods. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ihsg/publications/pdf/No-1.PDF. CS Faculty. (No Date). In the Office. Retrieved from http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/cs201/projects/effect-on-interpersonal-skills/Work2.htm. Jackson, S.E. & Scheuler, R.S. (1990). Human Resource Planning. Retrieved from http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&ved=0CDYQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsmlr.rutgers.edu%2Fjackson-hr-planning&ei=-LdAUNi8C4r5rQeb6YCIDQ&usg=AFQjCNEYparH2D53m053wh3ZL_bGxV6yyg. JPK. (n.d.). Job Analysis & Design. Retrieved from http://jpk.tjtc.edu.cn/08/jiudian/3_Lect/d02.htm. Sing, P. (2003). Job analysis for a changing workplace. 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