The thinking of this organization in regard to the job descriptions should be different. To ensure that we come up with a concise and all conclusive job description; our company shall take job descriptions to be ‘snapshots’ of sneak previews of the job. For each of the five positions, a tailor made job description shall be formulated and this should capture the specific needs of the firm. Towards that end, the job description shall include the tasks as well as responsibilities of the job including the main qualifications the job requires. Below, I come up with several categories that shall make up the job description for new trainees.
a) The position title
b) The Department
c) The Responsibilities (overall)
d) The Terms of employment
e) Academic qualifications
It should be noted that he section touching on academic requirements as well as the experience garnered over time shall inform the actual discrimination areas. More insistence shall be placed on educational requirements and in an instance where the individual may have the necessary experience but lacks in other critical areas such as academics, efforts shall be undertaken to carry out a modification of the job description. It may also be noted that deliberate measures have been undertaken in an effort to avoid discrimination inters of age. The deliberate measures in this case include but are not limited to excluding an upper limit when it comes to experience.
The training program
To begin with, it should be noted that the training program shall be designed for both the new and the current employees and it shall be founded on the need for qualifications as well as skill enhancement. When it comes to the development of the training program, I shall follow a number of steps which I identify below. The parameters I shall consider in this case include but are not limited to;
The reason why training is needed
Here, emphasis shall be placed on the various procedures and work situations of the company. For new employees, there is need to train them so that they may adopt to the new systems as well as procedures of the organization. This shall go a long way to ensure that such employees experience full job satisfaction and hence bring down the number as well as rate of new employee turnover. According to Mathis & Jackson (2008), the highest rate of new employee turnover occurs within the first quarter of the year.
With this in mind, various measures should be adopted so as to ensure that this scenario does not play out in our organization. One strategy to hedge against this is to institute new employee training so as to equip employees with skills on how to contribute as well as work as part of an interactive team. Apart from familiarizing new employees with the regulations, rules, vision as well as mission of the company, training shall also go a long way to reduce costs associated with supervision.
The needs that shall be solved by training
It is important to note that the identification of the needs to be addressed through training is of utmost importance as it shall help in the formulation of a training manual. It may also be noted that some of the issues to be addressed in this case included components identified within the job description.
The timeframe
Coming up with a timeframe in which the training shall be undertaken is necessary for purposes of ensuring that all the important training components are accomplished on a timely basis. In this regard, the training program shall take about four weeks (for both groups). This essentially means hat each group i.e. the new and the current employees shall each take two weeks.
Resource planning
When it comes to resource planning, it is important to note that this is an important aspect of the training program as the lack of sufficient resources could end up frustrating the training process (Storey 2007). Further, it is here that there is the identification of the training structure including but not limited to which training approach to undertake. For instance, there may be need to use in-house training approach based on its cost effectiveness as well as convenience.
Methods for evaluating employee and team performance
It is important to note that the importance of employee as well as team performance evaluation cannot be overstated. However, we must keep in min that the choice of the evaluation method to use is largely dictated by a number of things including but not limited to the specific circumstances of the organization. Here, I describe some of the methods we can utilize to evaluate not only employee but also team performance.
Traditional performance evaluation
Here, the idea is to use a certain criteria to rate the performance of either a group or employee. It can be noted that this is one of the easiest methods to use and the results presented in this case are largely subjective (Gowan & Lepak 2010). Traditional performance evaluation is also known as manager evaluation.
360 Feedback
When it comes to this form of performance evaluation, the reliance is on a number of people which may be made up of colleagues, supervisors or even coworkers. There is however need to note that the relevance of this method is founded on its ability to measure not only actual performance but attitudes and attributes as well. When it comes to measuring attributes, employees are able to get a clearer picture of how the work group perceives them.
However, like other measures, the 360 feedback method which is also called the multi-source feedback has a number of drawbacks. One of such drawbacks includes its complicated nature. The complications here may arise due to the inability of either the supervisors or employees to effectively translate the results presented and use them as hey should. To overcome this feedback though, I have identified a number of approaches which I believe shall go a long way to assist my department help in the evaluation process in some sort of a peer review approach.
Objective performance
Here, the employee is presented with standards as well as goals which are relatively measurable. The best time to present this is when the evaluation period begins. In our scenario, this may be in terms of meeting sales targets. In this regard, an employee can be given a certain figure which he or she is supposed to rake in sales. To ease measurement, the standard here could be specific time periods. In this approach, the goal of the evaluation process is to check if the employee met the goals and if not, which corrective measures should be instituted so as to bridge the gap between the expectations and the deviating figure.
Team evaluation
This is one of the most interactive methods of evaluating group as well as team performance. It takes two approaches to evaluate the team i.e. the performance of the team as a whole and secondly, the performance of each member of the team in isolation. Here, each team member is requested to do an objective evaluation of the team as a whole and secondly, the evaluation of his team members in isolation. It is important to note that when it comes to evaluation in out case, emphasis shall be put on combining this evaluation approach with another approach so as to guarantee as well as enhance its effectiveness.
A mention of the progressive discipline method
In a nutshell, this method concerns itself with addressing all those behaviors which are job related and which for one reason or the other fail to meet the laid down standards in regard to performance (Dessler 2004). For our case, the method may prove to be especially beneficial when it comes to helping employees come to terms with their performance problems and learn that there are approaches to addressee the same. The main benefit for us is that this approach seeks to assist rather than punish the employee. However, there are a number of steps which must be followed for the progressive discipline to be fully operational
Challenges of the team performance evaluation
It can be noted that the team performance evaluation shall not come without any challenges. Some of these challenges are significantly obvious and hence relatively easy to address while with some others, dealing with the same can be relatively hectic.The first challenge in this case includes differences between appraisal systems. The use of different appraisal systems could bring about conflicting results. However, it is this realization that gives us a chance to align all the tea procedures as well as processes in such a way that every aspect of the different team appraisal systems is harmonized.
Next, we have the difficulties of evaluating team performance. In that regard, it can be noted that difficulties in the evaluation of team performance could be informed by two things. The first is lack of knowledge on the process of evaluation and interpretation of results as well as the use of derived findings and second is unwillingness of the team to be subjected to evaluation. It is important to note that the team in this case shall be involved in every step of evaluation so as to avoid or avert any instance of sabotage.
Third, we have team motivations and expectations. Here, a number of approaches shall be utilized in an attempt to ensue that the team remains motivated so as guarantee a certain level of output. Indeed, according to Combs (2001), the motivation of teams should be the number one goal for managers. Further, it can be noted that the team can only participate I evaluation if it is sufficiently motivated. We then have individual equity and its effects on team performance. To ensure that every member of the team feels significantly secure and appreciated within his or her team, strategies should be instituted in such a way that all benefits as well as goals and recognition undertakings are undertaken in a unique and an all-involving process. This way, each and ever member of the team shall feel secure and settled.
Incentives and benefit packages
It can be noted that motivated people or employees for that matter are more likely o meet targets and achieve better results than workers who are not motivated. Needless to say, those who feel neglected achieve very little. Hence in this regard; for the incoming group, we shall take all necessary measures to ensure that superior work and performance is rewarded. One of the plans that shall be adopted shall include the employee-profit sharing plan. This is a proposal I hope it shall be adopted as it one of the most appropriate incentives designed to ensure that employees perform to the maximum.
I appreciate the fact that cash rewards especially salary increments seem like the most obvious preferences as far as incentives are concerned but in the long-term, their effectiveness cannot be sustained. Other benefits to be adopted in this case include but are not limited to medical benefits, travel allowances as well as leisure allowance. I is important to note that the benefits as well as incentives can be linked to other approaches to stimulate career development i.e. training funding etc.The compensation plan should also be fair enough and measures should be undertaken to ensure that the same does not in any way bring about resentments of any kind on the part of employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that by virtue of being the upper-level manager, I embrace my responsibility as far as the success of the team is concerned. I understand that motivation and close supervision of the same is critical to the success of the team and in so doing, I shall ensure that if approved, the proposal I present above is implemented in an all inclusive manner.
References
Combs, M. L. (2001). Employee motivation: views of successful leaders. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management
Dessler, G. (2004). Human resource management. Pearson/Prentice Hall
Gowan, M. & Lepak, D. (2010). Human resource management: managing employees for competitive advantage. Pearson Education, Limited, 2010
Mathis, R.L. & Jackson, J.H. (2008). Human resource management. Cengage Learning
Storey, J. (2007). Human resource management: a critical text. Cengage Learning EMEA
