How to Diagnose a Problem with the HR Department

Factors Creating Deficiencies described in 1, 2, and 3 

Alders and Richardson's HR personnel do not have a clear understanding of what the recruitment process involves. When handling the recruitment process, HR does not take into account the interaction between the organization and the candidates, which can either result in an attraction or rejection (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . It seems that during the recruitment process, HR does not present the candidates with specific requirements about the expectations of the organization, and the candidates, on the other hand, do not seem to offer experience, skills, capacities or qualifications that will, in turn, help build and foster an advantageous relationship (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . Therefore, this has resulted in new hires who do not possess the necessary skills and qualifications that are needed to make Alders and Richardson profitable and give it a competitive edge over its competitors.

Many at times, the reasons for employees an organization are unknown, but in the case of Alders and Richardson, it is because the HR department does not listen and cater to its employees as well as implement the needed retention strategies that are needed to make employees feel engaged and valued in order to retain them (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . Without employee retention strategies, Alders and Richardson will not be able to retain its high-employees.

Recommendations to Senior Management at Alders and Richardson 

Alders and Richardson need to assign their high-performing employees' highly visible and meaningful assignments in order to keep them engaged. Most of these assignments should be pivotal to the organization's success and have the ability to challenge them outside their comfort zones. Even though they may make mistakes, this should be seen as necessary in employee development (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . Also, employees should be recognized when they perform exemplary in their assignments, and the top management should reward them based on their performance. High-performing employees can be invited to participate in management meetings or lead high-profile teams (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) .

The HR department at Alders and Richardson needs to develop an employee recruitment strategy that is dynamic in order to attract quality talent pools, encourage applications from qualified and experienced candidates as well as reduce the time and cost to hire (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . Alders and Richardson should implement an employee referral program where an existing employee refers someone that they know for open positions. Employee referrals are the top source of quality hires, and they will help Alders and Richardson shorten the onboarding time, lower their turnover rates, and reduce their hiring budget (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . To reduce time and save money, Alders and Richardson should invest in an applicant tracking system that will be used in automating the recruitment process such as the posting for jobs, sorting out applicants, and interview scheduling (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . Such as system will help the organization reap on the benefits of artificial intelligence in selecting the best prospects and matching them to their desired roles at Alders and Richardson.

Positive and Negatives Metrics to Recommendations 

Metrics for Employees 

Management by Objectives – This a model that can be used to improve the performance of Alders and Richardson by translating its organizational goals into definite individual goals. This can be achieved through the formulation of objectives between the employee and the manager (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . The employee can then work on the objectives and then report back to their manager on their progress. The objectives will be measured by a number of points (0-9), and then awarded to the employee upon the successful completion of the tasks (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) .

Work Quality – Monthly, bi-annual, and annual appraisals should be conducted by the employee's immediate manager, and they should be kept subjective in terms of the employee's performance and potential (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . The 9-box grid can be used to assess the performance and potential of the employee, and it can also be used for succession planning in order to promote Alders and Richardson's high potentials.

Recruitment Metrics 

Time to fill – the purpose of this metric is to evaluate the time taken by the HR department at Alders and Richardson to fill a vacancy from the time when the vacancy was declared. Time to fill is calculated based on the total number of days when the vacancy was advertised to the time when onboarding was conducted for the candidate (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . The time to fill metric is vital for measuring the productivity of the HR department and its efficiency in the recruitment process.

Collaboration and Communication at the Executive Management Level 

There is a communication problem at Alders and Richardson between the employees, the management as well as at the executive level. It is evident that they are not on the same page, working together towards the achievement of a shared goal (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . Communication barriers exist among the executive management is preventing the organization from reaching its full potential. Without proper communication channels at all levels of the organization will lead to poor collaboration; hence no work will be done (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . Alders and Richardson must develop a communication plan for all internal and external projects and processes in order to avoid any communication breakdown in the organization.

Factors leading to communication breakdown 

Unclear roles – There seems to be no established hierarchy and the distribution of responsibilities that is vital for making sure that everyone at the organization knows who contact or the type of information that each individual needs to have access to (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) .

Poor leadership examples – From a cultural standpoint, leaders are responsible for setting the communication precedence from the top. Poor leadership examples seem to be the main cause of communication breakdown at Alders and Richardson.

Recommendations to the president of Alders and Richardson 

Develop a performance evaluation process – The employee performance evaluation process is vital for the success of the organization as well as the employees (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . There needs to be a consistent evaluation of the performance of not just the VP of HR and HR but for all employees at Alders and Richardson in order to improve employee performance as well as the relationship between managers and employees.

Develop and revise job descriptions – Job descriptions are a critical part of HR processes for any organization as they are required for hiring, employee performance, and appraisal management. From a managerial perspective, it is clear that the VP of HR and HR do not understand their job expectations or that of employees (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . The lack of job descriptions has made it impossible for the president of Alders and Richardson to evaluate the HR department's job performance. The president should make it a priority to revise the job descriptions of all employees on an annual basis and make sure that they reflect the duties that are performed by each employee (Robbins & Coulter, 2016) . This will help the employees understand what is expected of them based on their roles, and they can be used for performance evaluations.

Sources of Resistance to Recommendations and Interventions 

Lack of employee involvement – There will be fear of change among the employees as some of them may be required to assume different responsibilities based on their knowledge and skills (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . There will also be fear of failure by the employees in their new roles and responsibilities, and this will lead to self-preservation behaviors among the employees.

Lack of communication – Communication is at the core of successful organizational change (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014) . Lack of proper communication will lead to the recommendations not being implemented. Proper communication should take place at the planning and implementation phases of the recommendations.

References

Hughes, R., Beatty, K., & Dinwoodie, D. (2014). Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization's Enduring Success . Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Robbins, S., & Coulter, M. (2016). Management . Harlow: Pearson Education.