Strategic Human Resource Management and Emerging Issues

Introduction

In today's modern world, organizations have reached a paradox when it comes to career management. Employees today have easy access to external opportunities, however, when it comes to their current employer, that is not always the case. Meanwhile, managers in a lot of companies are now being forced to play the role of talent development, but are not supported in any way. Enter the HR department... who often gets put in the middle of all of this helping mediating instead of facilitating. With that, a balance between all parties is the key to providing effective career planning and development. Per this week's incident analysis, I will be going over the following: preventing future resignations and managing an employee's career, recommended changes to the career planning and development, outcomes of a career planning and development program, the impact of the program, and summarizing a brief policy.

Preventing Future Resignations and Managing an Employee's Career

Resignations like Bob's are not uncommon in today's workforce. 29% of North American workers have left companies due to the lack of career advancement compared to the 14% that want more money (Gurchiek, 2008). One of the key factors in preventing resignations like Bob's is communication. As the incident had pointed out, Bob assumed that there was no room for advancement therefore put in his resignation. It was only after he had spoken to plant manager, Terry did he find out that he was going to be transferred to the corporate office, but by then it was too late. There was no way of Bob knowing that this was all taking place had he not spoken to Terry. This situation in itself could have easily been prevented by the company having a career planning and development program in place for its employees.

Recommended Changes to the Career Planning and Development

As the head of HR, I would bring forth the following changes to the career planning and development. First and foremost, it will be a combined effort between the following parties: employees, managers, HR, and the organization (Gomes, 2014).

Employees have the responsibility of taking ownership of identifying what their career goals are, know their strengths and abilities, and undertaking the agreed-upon training and development actions (Giles & West, 2015).

Managers are the employee's coach and responsible for honest feedback, helping identify opportunities for growth & development through work assignments, and advising them about potential job opportunities. Also, they will assist in mapping out goals and objectives and identifying possible career options.

With keeping the organizational and business needs in mind, HR will assist with providing the tools, support, and resources necessary for staff to manage their careers and for the mangers to help employees in doing so. They can also act as the organizer, delivering clear information on what steps are needed next, job openings, counseling, and tools that allow access to talent info.

The organization is involved by providing the structure of resources (human and financial), business procedures, and the tools that help support career management. They will also be the advocates in promoting and supporting the program.

Outcomes of a Career Planning & Development Program

The outcomes of the program will bring forth transparency, control, and velocity to the organization.

Transparency for employees means that it will help them comprehend the career opportunities that could be available to them. On the employer end, this means visibility into their staff's capabilities and their career goals. This also helps them understand how it aligns with the company's workforce needs.

Control for employees provides the tools necessary that aid employees to contribute to decisions regarding the development of their careers. For the employer, this entails having the precise career-management processes in place to ensure that the company can fill key roles with the right people.

Velocity for employees means the ability to accelerate their potential career advancement to meet their career goals. For employers, this means having a ready talent pool needed to drive the talent pipelines.

Impact of the New Program

The impact of this new program will instill a positive culture in the organization and make employees feel like a valued asset.

Instilling a positive culture is vital to a company's succession in retaining the top talent and remaining competitive. Having employees be engaged in the process of their career development drives respect, honesty, and loyalty.

Having employees feel like they are a valued asset and worth more than just a number in the company drives them to go the extra mile. This is especially true if they feel responsible for the positive impact that they can contribute with their talents.

Brief Policy

The policy the new career planning and development program will first start in HR where we will be doing an analysis on which positions in the company need to fill. We will do this by creating an org chart with defined roles. This will not only assist to better recognize the immediate needs of the business, but also define which ones have the potential to scale the quickest, thus allowing to start the planning on career development opportunities. The second phase would be developing career maps. Utilizing the org chart, we will start mapping out the possible avenues in which an employee could take to achieve the position that they desire. Third would be a meeting with the managers to discuss this policy so that they know their roles and expectations. If further assistance is needed concerning mentoring or anything regarding their role, they will confide in HR for guidance. Fourth would be a meeting between the direct manager and their employee. It will be a meeting to introduce the career planning and development program to the employee. This will include creating the action plan with the employee. This will entail such things as what their goals are, development objectives, what kind of training is needed, estimated cost, possible roadblocks, and when they would like to be completed by (United States of Personnel Management, n.d.). Now that both parties are aware of their expectations in this plan, the last phase is to put that plan into action. As this plan progresses, there will be ongoing tracking and regular feedback from all parties involved.

Conclusion

The overall impact of having a career planning and development program in place is now an essential need within a company wanting to retain their valued employees. By having such a program in place will help with employee morale, engagement, and opens up the pathways for them to move up in the organization. Had such a program been in place for Bob's employer, the company would not have lost such an essential asset.

Cite this page