Introduction
Establishing efficient working processes is crucially essential for ensuring the achievement of the desired outputs. The company executives must keep in mind that the management practices performed in the working environment should adhere to the needs of the employees and provide them with an opportunity to develop their professional capacities (Howard et al., 2016). For Fresh Price Accounting, Inc., the current situation requires additional measures to be implemented in order to create a better working environment and enhance the workers’ experiences. Based on the results of the performed research, it is possible to outline the main issues and suggest resolution pathways. The present report discusses the findings of the research conducted to investigate the current workplace environment, describing the implemented human resource management practices and proposing new tactics to be utilized.
Conducting Research: Fresh Price Accounting from the Employees’ Perspective
The Value of Motivation
In order to properly examine the current working atmosphere and secure data that would allow the human resources (HR) consultant to uncover the emerging issues, Fresh Price Accounting’s employees were interviewed. During this process, several complaints made within the last calendar year were discovered, outlining the primary complications connected to the HR management practices used. First of all, more than 68% of currently employed personnel reported a lack of motivation towards improving their professional skills and engaging in personal competencies’ development. Although the majority of the workers feel the need to perform as expected of them, fulfilling the required assignments according to the established levels, there is no incentive for them to further improve their efficiency. In a healthy working environment, most of the workers should be inspired to achieve higher results than required by the management, as the desire to outperform their capacity serves as a means of professional improvement (Howard et al., 2016). However, when employees do not feel incentivized and are simply completing the tasks provided by the management, the possibility of including the workforce’s competencies drops significantly.
In this regard, it is essential for Fresh Price Accounting to introduce novel measures that will promote the motivation of the workers, allowing them to be fully engaged in the working assignments. Monetary rewards, training sessions, and other incentives are highly beneficial for this purpose (Howard et al., 2016). Alternatively, it is possible to analyze the current tasks assigned to the team members, ensuring that the objectives established will compel the workers to perform slightly above their current capabilities (Howard et al., 2016). In the long term, these adjustments will account for the gradual improvement in the employed individuals’ professional abilities, consequently increasing the enterprise’s outputs. Furthermore, it is crucial to consider that motivation can be twofold, influenced by intrinsic or external factors (Kuswati, 2019). Therefore, managers should initiate practices that can boost both of these motivation types, for example, accounting for the employees’ personal interests to promote intrinsic motivation or offering additional incentives to facilitate external stimulus.
Improving the Acquisition of Extended Leaves
Another issue encountered by the interviewed employees was the inability to acquire extended leave due to illness. As such, 87% of the workers employed by Fresh Price Accounting were worried that applying for extended leave might disrupt their professional standing and lead to job loss. Thus, the personnel was forced to continue working even during a personal illness or an illness of a family member, which drastically decreased their focus on the working assignments. However, safety at the workplace and the ability to obtain a leave of absence due to important reasons such as a medical condition, care for another person, or a family emergency is an inherent right (Williamson, 2019). Therefore, it should be adequately clarified with the employees in order to promote understanding. Considering that fear of losing occupation can tremendously disrupt one’s workflow, creating additional complications for the individual and the company, this issue should be resolved as soon as possible.
A prominent method of addressing the extended leave application process is conducting an overview of corporate rules and regulations on the subject. For example, the executives could organize a meeting to discuss the concerns related to medical insurance extended leave, leave of absence due to medical or family emergencies, providing the employees with the necessary knowledge (Williamson, 2019). Initiating this procedure on a regular basis could significantly promote the workers’ understanding of the company’s corporate policies, establishing a feeling of safety. In addition, this practice could ensure the personnel that their occupation does not depend on issues that are out of their control, increasing their work engagement and satisfaction levels.
Inappropriate Dissmisal Practices
According to the conducted research, four employees were fired due to disability or pregnancy. Nonetheless, it is highly unethical to fire an employee during a period of disability or pregnancy, and it should never be performed in a healthy working environment (Kröll & Nüesch, 2019). It is a highly stressful event to announce a disability or a pregnancy, and the company executives must carefully approach such instances according to ethical and legal codes. As such, job safety is a vital concept to consider when managing such events, and firing individuals due to disability or pregnancy directly compromises this idea (Kröll & Nüesch, 2019). Such decisions also impact other workers, creating a negative workplace environment absent of understanding.
The legal recommendations suggest that the company should provide a sabbatical, an extended break from work. For instance, disability leave, pregnancy leave, or additional programs should be available for employees with disabilities or pregnancy to ensure their well-being (Kröll & Nüesch, 2019). During this time, the workers remain employed, and their salary is also partially preserved. A sabbatical leave policy should be established and clarified with the workers, ensuring their understanding of the requirements (Kröll & Nüesch, 2019). Alternatively, Fresh Price Accounting can create a temporary work from home program to fulfill the needs of disabled or pregnant employees. This initiative can be extremely beneficial, offering the personnel a possibility to continue their working practices during difficult times.
The Issues of Diversity and Workplace Acceptance
The next complication uncovered by the research was the lack of diversity practices And requirement misunderstanding between the representatives of various communities. As such, 91% of the companies employees are white males, meaning that the workforce is not diversified and predominantly includes the members of one community. Nevertheless, the remaining 9% of the personnel, who belong to different races, genders, and ethnicities, appear to feel pressured by exclusively white male colleagues. In addition, the phenomenon of being unwelcomed and misunderstood by white male employees was also noted, suggesting that acceptance of representatives of different communities is substantially low at Fresh Price Accounting. However, as decreased diversity and lack of communication due to race, gender, language, and ethnic differences can incur significant problems in the workplace, the discussed issue should be adequately addressed by human resource management.
Diversity practices could be the necessary instruments to be implemented at fresh price accounting. First of all, to promote diversity, it is possible to amend the current hiring procedures, focusing on selecting and recruiting employees who belong to a variety of races, genders, and ethnicities (Cletus et al., 2018). When utilized correctly, these activities will allow for establishing a diverse workspace, as well as promote acceptance of other individuals regardless of their community connections. After that, communication between employees is a crucial part of a working environment efficiency, and lack all understanding between the team members due to personal differences can decrease the enterprise’s productivity (Cletus et al., 2018). From this perspective, Fresh Price Accounting can promote acceptance of others by introducing team activities and team-building exercises that aim to improve the levels of understanding and facilitate successful interaction practices. In addition to communication, these endeavors can enhance creative motivation by allowing employees to express themselves during team building.
Inadequate Training and Employee Turnover
Finally, a troubling tendency uncovered by the research is connected to the reasons behind the higher levels of employee turnover. 62% of current employees, who resigned from their position after less than six months of employment, have reported that they did not feel adequately trained to perform the tasks required of them. Therefore, it is possible that the employees who left the company were unable to successfully perform in the working environment, sensing the contrast between their own capacities and the demands established by the management. The gap between employee skills and required tasks can indeed be a crucial issue for many managers, as maintaining an appropriate balance between these concepts necessitates tremendous effort and knowledge (Agba et al., 2021). Nevertheless, employees in the workplace need to feel capable of acquiring the knowledge required for their position, as the level of their competencies must correlate with the tasks distributed to them.
To ensure the balance between the workers’ skills and established tasks, training initiatives can be implemented at Fresh Price Accounting. Via training courses, learning programs, and development incentives, the HR managers can offer the personnel the possibility to improve their current professional capacities and perform their working duties at the needed level (Agba et al., 2021). Moreover, such activities often increase the skills of the employees above the required level, boosting their competence and efficiency (Agba et al., 2021). By implementing continuous learning and providing suitable training materials, Frest Price Accounting executives could successfully mitigate the turnover due to a lack of knowledge.
Conclusion
To conclude, the results of the conducted research predominantly highlight that the utilized management practices cannot adequately support a productive workplace atmosphere, with the majority of employees demonstrating displeasure towards the ongoing initiatives. Given that such occurrences might negatively affect the company standing, decreasing the workers’ efficiency and minimizing the potential outputs, it is imperative for Fresh Price Accounting to introduce measures that could mitigate the current obstacles. Improving the workers’ motivation, extended leave allowances, disability and pregnancy programs, diversity, and retention due to lack of training are the most crucial activities to be conducted to ensure the establishment of a healthy workplace.
References
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Cletus, H. E., Mahmood, N. A., Umar, A., & Ibrahim, A. D. (2018). Prospects and challenges of workplace diversity in modern-day organizations: A critical review. Journal of Business and Public Administration, 9(2), 35–52. Web.
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Williamson, M. W. (2019). The meaning of leave: Understanding workplace leave rights. New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, 22, 197.