Introduction
Talent management is an important part of human resource management. It regulates how companies address issues such as the replacement of valuable employees and their retention, as well as other aspects related to employees. The presented case study outlines a situation where a company is starting to lose its status as a top employer due to the need to use modern technologies. This paper will analyze the situation and present a talent management plan that would be consistent with the mission statement of the company.
Background
The given scenario describes an electric power company situated in the southwestern region of the United States. The company has been in operation since 1940, and over the years, it developed a reputation for a great employer in the region. Its mission is to satisfy the electric power needs of the customers, while also providing significant value to all of its stakeholders. Stakeholders of the company include customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities powered by the company.
The values of the company are focused on the creation of a safe work environment where all the stakeholders are treated fairly; the commitments to the resources of the company are treated wisely; the work-life of the employees are of high quality; while the company strives for excellence and fun. One of the unique consequences of the positive reputation of the company is that it now employs children and even grandchildren of past employees who have a high level of loyalty to the company. However, new technological advancements often replace employees, which can lead to the loss of the high status of the company as an employer.
Financial Implications and Constraints
There can be severe consequences to the performance of the company if its management does not approach talent management with care. The positive financial implications in the implementation of modern technology within the company lie in the increased efficiency that can be achieved through the use of computer solutions for tasks that were previously solved by teams of people. Increased efficiency should lead to lesser costs and larger profits. However, larger profits at the expense of the company’s employees would go against both the company’s mission and its values. Therefore, the company is constrained in financed because it requires a balanced approach to the increased inefficiency.
Gaps in the Organization’s Management Talent
Currently, the organization management talent seems to dedicate a large breadth of work toward providing a pleasant and professional work life of the employees but perhaps lacks depth in other areas. Training and retraining programs for the employees are only briefly mentioned in the case study. It is likely that retraining of employees whose positions were replaced through computer solutions was either rarely considered by the current management talent or seen as a lower priority in dealing with the current issues. Nothing was mentioned about employee retention either, despite its importance for the company as a whole. Since a significant portion of the employees is children and grandchildren of previous employees, their loyalty should not be left unappreciated when their position becomes obsolete.
Interventions
One possible intervention to the issue of employee retention when certain positions become obsolete due to the implementation of technology is the creation of internal job boards. This practice has gained attention in recent years and is considered to have a positive impact on employee retention. The relative flexibility of the practice allows it to be utilized in a variety of industries. Internal job boards allow existing employees to apply for other positions in the company based on their skills and job history.
The movements of the employees are often lateral in this system, but it allows loyal talent to stay within the company and advance in their career even after their position becomes obsolete. The practice of internal job boards is present in over 95% of organizations, and its implementation should not be problematic for the company (Cappelli & Keller, 2014). While a loss of positions is often inevitable when new technology is implemented, employee retention has to be maximized to follow the values and the mission statement of the company.
The second intervention should be used to increase the positive outcomes for employees who want to apply for different positions through the inside job boards. Studies show that employees can greatly benefit from additional training when it is provided by the organization. Such opportunities allow employees to address their career concerns, especially in situations where they expect certain positions to become obsolete. The company should organize a series of training sessions that could prepare them for various positions available within the company (Coetzee & Stoltz, 2015). The company’s attention to its employees could also be expressed by enlisting past workers as coaches for the existing positions (Nanduri, 2017). Additionally, positions that are created by the introduction of new technology should be available to the existing employees. Such positions may include jobs in computer maintenance and operation.
Counselling Plan
Although a number of employees would be able to change their positions in the company, some would have to be let go from the company. This process is likely to be extremely stressful for the employees who were previously loyal to the company (Nyasha et al., 2014). These employees do not stop being stakeholders of the company after they are let go because it provides energy to their home. Therefore, to ensure that the company values are upheld, the employees who could not retain their jobs would have to be counseled by the organization.
Research on organization counseling suggests that it could involve emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support. For example, the company could provide a letter of recommendation, information on possible places of employment in the industry, and loyalty based bonuses to the severance packages (Smollan, 2017; Collings, Mellahi, & Cascio, 2017). These and other solutions that could show that despite the need to downsize the pool of employees, the company still treats them with fairness and appreciation.
Talent Management Plan Justification
The presented electric power company has created a culture of fair treatment of employees. However, it requires new technology to remain competitive on the market. While the company previously utilized retraining as a possible solution for its issues, it could have a much stronger effect when internal job boards are implemented. Employees whose positions are likely to become obsolete will be able to immediately assess the available positions within the company and begin their training for those positions. It would resolve both the need for talent in other areas of the company and employee retention.
Moreover, it would allow the company to implement any needed technological improvement without the loss of the company status as one of the top three employers in the area. Both of the presented interventions have been studied in the past, and their effectiveness was proven in a variety of scholarly publications (Eichhorst et al., 2014). Therefore, by combining them, the company should see a clear benefit to its talent base. The counseling plan for the employees that would have to be let go also recognizes the way that the company expresses its appreciation of the work provided by its stakeholders. Downsizing has been shown to have highly negative effects on employee morale and any measures to mitigate its effects can be seen as positive (Manson, 2014).
Conclusion
Talent management is an integral part of the human resource management. The presented company experienced an issue where the technological needs of the company came into conflict with its values of fair treatment of employees. The company needed to leverage the competitive edge provided by technology while retaining its employees and status of a top employer in the area. The current management was focused on mitigating the issue through a variety of means, but none proved to be enough on their own to address it. The presented talent management plan included two interventions that were designed to maximize their combined effect. Internal job boards were chosen to allow employees to redirect their career while remaining in the company, while the creation of position-specific training programs that utilize past employees as coaches would prepare them for the lateral career shift. For those employees that would not be able to keep their position, a counseling plan was prepared. By utilizing the suggested techniques, the company should be able to achieve its goals without compromising its values.
References
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