Process Of Change Management: Benefits And Strategies

Change Management Process

What is the process of change management? Explain.

The process of change management is the sequence of activities that a project leader or a team of change management follows. It is done for applying change management to an organization in order for driving individual transitions and ensuring that the organizational project meets the intended outcomes. If the change process serves the purpose and objectives of the organization in order to achieve prosperity and success then it can be stated that the change process is successful. The change process can be in the organizational culture, structure and nature of work (Pollack and Pollack 2015). If that change process succeeds to be efficient and effective for the benefit across the organization then it can be agreed and supported.

Feedback is the information regarding the reactions to a person’s performance that is used as a basis for the improvement (Horowitz 2013). From the information accumulated from the feedback of organizational employees and the management professionals, the HR department can identify what are the drawbacks in the HR policies regarding salary, promotion, rewards, leave regulations, employee probationary period etc. They can make the necessary changes accordingly to ensure more flexibility in HR delivery.

Personal behavior is a strong determinant in the delivery of an employee’s overall performance in an organization. If an employee maintains ethical standards in his personal behavior while working in an organization then it creates a good impression on the management’s mind regarding him (Staub 2013). If it is been noticed that the organization is working consistently maintaining the values and ethics and their employees are not involved in any sort of evil practices, then it can be ensured that the employees’ personal behavior is consistently ethical and it has reflected the organizational values.

The code of conduct is a rule set that outlines the social norms and responsibilities for an individual or organization (Conduct 2012). A dedicated team of professional experts should be assigned the responsibilities to check whether obeying the code of conduct such as minimizing harm, enhancing professional relationships, showing loyalty, acting fairly, acting independently are been practiced throughout the organization. If such code of conduct is maintained throughout the organization, it can be observed through the help of those experts.

It should also be ensured that those codes of conduct are included in the company’s HR policies so that the employees become bound to maintain them. The code of conduct’s expectations includes maintaining values and ethical behavior in the organization (Oderanti and De Wilde 2012). Therefore, if maintaining values and ethics are made mandatory in the organization as per the HR policies, it will imply that the code of conduct’s expectations is incorporated in the company’s HR practices.

In case of financial year ending, when the employees’ of an organization get monetary increments, promotions, annual incentives and other rewards, a strict level of confidentiality is maintained regarding those information in the organization’s HR department. That information is maintained in a secured database so that no other person in the organization can access it (Rashidi-Tabrizi, Mussbacher and Amyot 2013). The requirement of the confidentiality is to avoid any chaotic situation among the people regarding their monetary payments.

In case of negotiations of wage with the workers and labor union in an organization’s factory, a prompt dealing of the unethical behavior is required. It has been seen that if the demands of the labor union of the workers are not been fulfilled then they go for strike or lock outs in the factory. They don’t behave in an ethical manner to their superiors and make a continuous raise of voice (Oderanti and De Wilde 2012). In such situation that tends to be going out of control, should be dealt properly by sitting in a meeting with them and making a negotiation in order to create a trade-off between them and the management principles.

It should be ensured that all the employees of a particular organization should be undergone through a rigorous training on the HR policies of an organization. Those HR policies will be based on values and ethics. Therefore, ethical behavior will be a prime concern of the training (Budhwar and Debrah 2013). It will make all the persons responsible to maintain ethical standards in their behavior while working in the organization.

The legal and compliance requirements that apply to manage the HR resources are maintaining standards for wages and hours, health benefits, safety, retirement, working conditions, worker’s compensations, employee rights, record keeping, reporting and the penalties for non-compliance, family and medical leave and employer notice prior to termination (App, Merk and Buttgen 2012).

The legal and compliance requirements that apply to manage the HR resources are maintaining standards for wages and hours, health benefits, safety, retirement, working conditions, worker’s compensations, employee rights, record keeping, reporting and the penalties for non-compliance, family and medical leave and employer notice prior to termination (Rao 2014).

Performance management is the systematic method through which a particular agency makes an involvement of its employees as the members and individuals of a particular group (Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). The method is applied to improve the effectiveness of the organization to accomplish the goals and mission of the agency.

The contract management is the method to manage the contract creation, execution and analysis for maximizing the financial and operational performance in an organization (Khan and Khan 2013). The process is done keeping the financial risk reduced. Therefore, contract management is managing the contracts done with the vendors, customers, partners or employees of an organization.

National Camper Trailers Pty. Ltd. has a business objective of maximization of their profits and minimization of costs. The two options presented for staffing levels required for next 5 years in each department are as follows,

Hiring quality professionals for each and every department who have ample experience in their respective domain. Those professionals will have a quality contribution towards the departments with which they are associated. Motivating the existing team members to perform better and eliminating those members who stay unproductive (De Waal 2013). This option complies with the policies, business goals and legislative requirements of National Camper Trailers Pty. Ltd.

Hiring fresher employees on contractual and temporary basis to perform the daily operational activities in the lower level.
The external business environment of a particular company is normally determined by the market situation and the competitors. If the market situation is unfavorable resulting to financial loss of NCT then it makes difficult for the company to bear the cost of manpower (Goetsch and Davis 2014). In such situation, the company will terminate those employees whom they consider being unproductive and whose contributions are minimum. In case, if there are ample opportunities in the market for prospering the business, then the HR department of the company will recruit new professionals for implementing the company’s new business venture (App, Merk and Buttgen 2012).

NCT has imposed the HR policies and procedures on diversity to make their manpower to be flexible. The company has aimed to resolve the issue regarding continued high turnover in the Assembly and Fit Out Department. In the latest report, they have prioritized the issues stating that the staffs are not fully aware of their responsibilities, no exit interviews were conducted, good performance were not rewarded, poor performance was not managed, diversity policies were not properly understood (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). The management has requested that a performance assessment system is required to be implemented with measurable key performance indicators and annual recognition. NCT also required a resource planning and position descriptions at every levels along with appropriate workplace procedures complying with legislative requirements which include safe and respectful work place (Ulrich 2013).

The recommendations in respect to staffing levels over the next 5 years are as follows,

• Expert employees should be recruited who will be able to resolve the critical issues of the company.

• Proper job training would be given to the employees so that they become aware of their responsibilities (Berman et al. 2015).

• Rewarding of good performance and management of poor performance should be done.

From the options that are been developed, the most suitable option is the Option 1 which states hiring quality professionals having notable experience for various departments of NCT (Allen, Ericksen and Collins 2013). Through hiring these quality professionals who have a good level of concept in their respective domain, an initial grooming should be done so that they can adjust in less time in the environment of NCT where they have been involved.

The development of the strategy and action plans for the delivery of human resources over the next 5 years will be in such manner that it will have a positive effect on the sales that has declined in the recent years (Bratton and Gold 2012). It will also minimize the production and operating cost in order to enhance the profit margin.

Roles and responsibilities of the HR team, senior / line managers and external contractors

The HR team will have a significant role in the development of the strategy and action plans. NCT has previously suffered from employees who have lack of knowledge regarding the work they are doing (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall and Rigsbee 2013). There were no such proper reward facilities for good performance of the employees. There was also an issue related to lack of management of poor performance. The HR team is now dedicated to fix the issues with improved reward system for the performing employees. They are also in the development to provide compensation facilities and safety for the employees at their workplace (Bamberger, Biron and Meshoulam 2014). They will develop a performance assessment chart with definite Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for evaluating the employees’ contributions.

Moreover, they will recruit the quality professionals who have ample expertise in their respective domain. Those professionals will later lead a whole team to provide a high quality services. Such excellence can be shown in any department, be it the Manufacturing or Finance or Sales and Marketing (Kehoe and Wright 2013). The HR team will also ensure that the professional code of conduct will be strictly followed in the organization which will create a good environment to work. All the code of conduct will be follow ethical standards.

The senior or line managers of NCT will motivate their team members so that they can contribute by giving their best performance in Manufacturing, Assembly and Fit Out, Finance and Administration, HR and WHS, Sales and Marketing (Buller and McEvoy 2012). The line manager of Assembly and Fit Out, Mr. Michael has noticed increased number of employee turnover in the recent years which was quite unexpected. He, therefore, has to take extra initiatives to motivate his team members towards their work so that they have the interest to stay connected with their work.

Quality workers should be hired in the Assembly and Fit Out department so that they can make a positive effect in the existing ones in order to boost up their work standard (Flamholtz 2012). The Factory and Manufacturing Manager, Mr. Bill should concentrate on more production whereas Sheryl should make more innovative ideas to refine the Finance and Administrative tasks (Rao 2014). Heather, the line manager of HR & WHS should provide directions to her team so that the company’s employees make a formation of a group dedicated for the fulfillment of the company’s forthcoming plans and objectives (Hendry 2012). Kennedy, being the Sales and Marketing Manager, should be involved in the digital marketing of NCT’s vehicles. He should also make planning with the Expo Teams for more promotions of the company’s products (Flamholtz 2012). He should also aim for expansion of the national outlets to make a broader market of the company.

The external contractors should not loose faith from NCT as it has proven track records regarding its superiority in the market in the past. They should continue with the business agreements with NCT so that the company can regain its position within the next 5 years (Buller and McEvoy 2012). The contractors should provide active support to the management professionals of NCT in order to come from the evil situation they are undergoing for last few years. The contractors should be proactive in terms of dealing with NCT and should take strategies which will enhance the overall business of the organisation.

Communication of information about the HR strategies and services to internal and external stakeholders
The company should continue its top-down and bottom-up approach for communication of information about the HR strategies. Those HR strategies include restructuring, training and development, recruitment, outsourcing and collaboration strategies (Kehoe and Wright 2013). All these strategies should be communicated to both the internal and external stakeholders so that a transparency gets maintained in the overall environment of the organization (Rao 2014). The restructuring strategies include reduction of staffs through termination or attrition, regrouping of tasks for creation of well designed jobs, reorganization of work units for making it more efficient (Bamberger, Biron and Meshoulam 2014). The training and development strategies include providing staff with training on new roles and providing the current staff with development opportunities to prepare them for the future jobs.

The recruitment strategies include recruiting new employees with skill and abilities which will be required in future and considering the available options for strategically promoting the job openings and encouraging suitable candidates to apply. The outsourcing strategies include utilizing the external people or organizations for completing the tasks (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall and Rigsbee 2013). The collaboration strategies involve working with other companies for preparing future leaders, sharing the training costs for the employee groups and allowing the professionals to visit other organizations in order to gain insights (App, Merk and Buttgen 2012). All these strategies to be implemented as per requirement in the next 5 years should be communicated properly to all the stakeholders of the company.

Communication of the service specifications, performance standards and timeframes
NCT is basically a company of vehicle services. To improve the share in the market, they have to enhance the level of their service specifications, performance standards and the time frames of order delivery. NCT should make a clear communication of those standards and specifications among its professionals as well as to their customers (Bratton and Gold 2012). The communication will make a clear picture about NCT’s image in the customer’s mind. A positive image will make a good impact in the customer’s mind. It will tend to generation of increased number of customers for the service (Goetsch and Davis 2014). A good performance of the product and its timely delivery will increase customer satisfaction. Therefore, increased customer satisfaction will eventually make a positive reflection in the overall sales of NCT’s products (Allen, Ericksen and Collins 2013). Therefore, in the next 5 years, the company should practice to make more communication of its product features to its clients and customers so that a formation of a big ground for product sales takes place.

NCT should always encourage in training support for its employees so that all the employees can understand the task assigned to them in a much better way. Training support actually provides the concept to the employees through which they can understand a case in a much better way whether it is in the Manufacturing or in the Finance department (Berman et al. 2015). NCT should encourage its employees in taking various training sessions whether in their organizations or in other organizations so that the necessary skills required for their job gets developed (Ulrich 2013). If the employees have a good level of expertise due to the training sessions then they can contribute to the success of NCT.

Feedback and HR Policies to aid Change Management

NCT should make a proper monitoring on the processes that aim for quality assurance. Starting from the top level management to the bottom level execution, NCT should implement the process where determining the quality standard will be a prime concern of the management professionals (Rao 2014). A group of quality experts will be dedicated to check whether the work going on in each department is meeting the quality standards. The company should take remedial actions if it detects any defects in the process maintained in the organization (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). Thus, those quality assurance processes will lead to a refined standard of the organization.

Identification of the appropriate return on investment of providing HR services
NCT should make a proper identification of the output against the investment they have made for recruitments in their different departments. The company’s HR department has adopted innovative strategies for recruitment in order to hire quality manpower in its each department (Goetsch and Davis 2014). If those newly joined professionals contribute towards the organization to such extent that the company meets its targets and objectives, then it can be said that the company is getting an appropriate return against the investments they have made for the manpower (Allen, Ericksen and Collins 2013). As in the next 5 years, the company’s aim is to excel well in its industry through regaining its lost position, it should concentrate well on the investments made on the manpower, checking whether they are giving good results (Khan and Khan 2013). If NCT concentrates on the outsourcing strategy such as hiring manpower from an HR service provider then they should properly evaluate whether the service are serving the company’s purpose in a proper way.

The company should also check whether the ethical standards are properly maintained by the newly joined professionals (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). As the company’s primary objective is to make all the professionals to obey the moral code of conduct in the organization, they should be highly concerned about the matter that compliance is maintained in the organization regarding obeying the code of conduct (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall and Rigsbee 2013). If such level of compliance is been maintained then it will signify that appropriate return is been received against the investment on HR services.
Service agreements between the HR team, service providers and client groups

The company should also concentrate on making short and long term service agreements between the HR people, service providers and client groups to maintain a healthy financial relationship. There will be clear conditions mentioned in the agreements which both parties will obey throughout the agreement tenure (Ulrich 2013). If the HR team of NCT makes an agreement with an external HR service provider, they should clearly state that the service provider will provide quality manpower to them throughout the contract period. If such conditions are not properly obeyed throughout the contract period then the HR terminate the service agreement without making any further proceedings (Flamholtz 2012). The service agreements between the company and the client will be such that the company will stay dedicated to provide quality service to its client in order to make them satisfied throughout the service agreement period for their product (Bratton and Gold 2012). In the next 5 years, the management of the company should concentrate on preparation of making service level agreements for its HR team, service providers and its client in order to make a good work culture resulting to better growth.

Section of agreement of adoption from the CEO of NCT’s
The CEO of NCT, Mr. Mick has a planning to recover the market share and the position that his company has loosen in the recent years. Due to such reason, he has approved several agreements in order to have a good number of qualified staffs and superior quality services (Kehoe and Wright 2013). In order to gain a good position in the next 5 years, the CEO has concentrated to prepare service level agreements by the help of his operational manager and the respective departmental heads. The CEO has adopted the policies which will provide the way to make agreements with other companies for collaborative support in terms of production, manpower supply (Buller and McEvoy 2012). The policies will also help to make service level agreements with the client and the customers for retaining them. Allover, the adoption of the agreements are aimed for the benefit of the company.

A performance assessment chart should be prepared for the HR service providers as per the service agreements and NCT’s operational plan in order to measure their appropriateness. That chart will show how many manpower have been provided by the service provider during the contract period, how many of them are of superior quality, how many of them are absorbed by the company on permanent basis, how many have resigned immediately after joining and how many candidates have been terminated (Hendry 2012). It should also be assessed how much charges the company is taking for the supply of the manpower. On the basis of the comparison of the assessment reports of the HR service providers, that company should be treated to be the most appropriate which provide maximum number of quality professionals with minimum amount of manpower supply charges.
The issues with the HR service provider are as follows,
• Supply of manpower having lack of seriousness.

• Improper grooming of the manpower.

The rectification of the underperformance of the HR service provider is as follows,

• Providing clear eligibility criteria of the manpower starting from his academic background to his behavioral aspects (Bratton and Gold 2012).

• Provide warning to the service provider that if their manpower becomes casual in case of maintaining clean and tidy dress code, then payment for the manpower supply will be not given to him and the manpower supply agreement will be terminated.

The systems that will be used to gather and store information required to provide HR services will be an Enterprise Resource Planning software such as the Payroll Processing ERP software (Berman et al. 2015). It will store all the HR information of the employees starting from salary, attendance, compensation, incentives, rewards. The ERP software will also maintain the organizational rules and policies which can be derived as reports whenever required.

The approval for the variation in service delivery from appropriate managers will be received from the CEO, Mick. The request for variation in the manpower has been done by the Sales and Marketing Manager, Kennedy.

A request should be placed to the CEO stating that an additional staff member will do the canvassing of a new business (Rao 2014). The benefits of the new business along with the recruitment will be elaborated to him. As the proposal becomes convincing to the CEO in terms of its profitability, he will give the approval.

NCT’s HR induction manual actually is based on Code of Conduct which follows values and ethical practices in the organization. The company has aimed to integrate the human resource management strategies and the systems for achieving the mission, success and strategies of NCT through meeting their employees’ needs (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). The company actually tries to ensure adequate human resources for meeting strategic goals and operational plans of NCT. The company tries to keep up with social, legislative, economic and technological trends that impact on NCT. The company’s HR policies also try to remain flexible for managing changes if the future becomes different than anticipated.

On the basis of the statements, it can be stated that the Code of Conduct is based to give right judgment to the stakeholders and the employees. All the professionals should maintain ethical standards in their organizational behavior. Good performance of employees should be rewarded, poor performances should be managed, compensation and security facilities will be given to them (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The code of conduct also states of doing no harm to the people in the organization, maintaining proper dress code, maintaining regularity and punctuality in attendance.

The online survey is done on 10 employees of National Camper Trailers Pty. Ltd. The survey questionnaire has been developed for determination of the customer satisfactions with the delivered HR services of NCT.
Development of the survey

References

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