Problem:
You have a difficult task ahead of you. The manufacturing organization in the UK that you have been working in for the past five years is struggling, and you know that there is a need to reduce the number of employees. This will mean a redundancy exercise. However, before you start the process of managing the redundancies you have been asked to plan carefully. You have been asked to think about the future of the organization, and how to ensure that the talents crucial to the organization are kept.
The exact numbers have not been agreed, but it is suggested that the current workforce of 500 employees will be reduced to around 350. There will be redundancies in all areas.
Next week you are attending a planning meeting, and you have been asked to prepare a report to present at that meeting. In that report you need to cover the following points:
- Is there a need for an HR department if there are just 350 employees in the organization? You are the HR Manager, and you want to conclude that there is a need for the department, but you need to explain and justify the contribution that HR makes to an organization.
- One key requirement is to think about the skills that are needed for the future, as well as the skills that are required today. How will you ensure that you develop the talent of the people that remain in the organization?
- It is very important to ensure that the redundancy is carried out in a non- discriminatory way. What is discrimination, how does it occur and how can you reduce the chance for it occurring in the redundancy process?
- Although the UK operations have been struggling, the operations that are based in three countries in Africa have been growing. It is suggested that some of the managers in the UK who would otherwise be made redundant could be offered a six month placement in Africa. This would give them some additional employment, and keep their skills in the organization for a little longer. What are the potential difficulties with this suggestion?
Additional Information:
The assignment in human resources is about Planning in the human resource management. The assignment is about different problems faced by human resources management. Issues such as employee's difference of opinion, etc can consume the HR's time. On the other hand, the HR must be able to harness talent and knowledge to an optimum level so that the organization, on the whole is benefited by it.
Total Word limit: 3900 words