Proposal for Solving the Problem of Decreasing Employee Morale and Productivity at Phoenix Advertising Company’s Roanoke Branch
The employees are the most vital assets for Phoenix Advertising Company. For this reason, it is imperative for the company’s management to always keep them happy and satisfied. As the vice president of the human resources management, I investigated the problems facing the company’s Roanoke branch. One of the major problems that I discovered is the decreasing employee morale and productivity. Specifically, working for long hours devoid of being adequately compensated is making the employees at this branch dissatisfied, thus, reducing their morale and productivity. For this reason, this proposal aims at revitalizing these employees as well as the departments so as to restore the branch to full productivity. The implementation of this proposal will increase the employees’ satisfaction with their jobs and make them work hard. As a result, this will increase their efficiency and the overall productivity of the branch. Besides, it will ensure that the branch’s workers are fully compensated for their efforts and, thus, reduce the turnover costs since they will not need to find more satisfying jobs in the competing companies. What is more, it will help to reduce absenteeism at the branch and, as a consequence, increase its productivity and the overall profitability of the company.
Background
During my investigation, I gathered the necessary information from Roanoke branch’s manager and employees. I also used the branch’s financial reports and the payroll statements for the past one year. I discovered that declining employee morale and productivity is one of the primary problems that this branch is experiencing. I found out that the branch has recently been accepting all the potential clients devoid of assessing the accounts with reference to the current project workload. I also discovered that all the staffs at the branch work for long hours a number of days every week. It was disheartening to find out that the branch neither informs the employees about the increased workload nor pays them for the extra hours they work. In essence, this makes the latter dissatisfied with their jobs.
I found out that one of the main causes of decreasing morale and productivity among the employees at the branch is long working hours with no compensation. The employees are forced to work for additional hours even during the weekends to meet the deadlines. As a result, this reduces their morale and productivity. The financial statements showed that the profits of the branch since it started accepting all the potential clients, that is during the past one year, had dropped by 50%. During the past year, the branch had made a profit of $6,000 but decreased to $3,000 during the following year. Ideally, this drop in the profitability of the branch is due to the decreasing employee morale and productivity. The branch manager confirmed that they have been increasing the workload for the employee but have not been compensating them for the additional hours worked.
I also found out that lack of communication is the other main cause of decreased employee morale and productivity at the branch. The branch manager also attested that they increased the responsibilities of the employees without letting them know. The branch lacks open communication. The employees reported that it was not easy for them to voice their concerns and ideas to the branch management. After the interview, I calculated the percentage of the employees who were ready to quit and search for jobs in other companies and found out that over 50% of them were ready to do so. Out of the 10 interviewees, 7 said that they could quit their current jobs if there found new ones. These employees reported that lack of open communication at the branch was one of the reasons they were willing to quit their jobs.
There is a need to solve this problem as soon as possible to prevent Roanoke branch from making losses and having a detrimental impact on the overall profitability and success of the company. In an effort to solve this problem, the branch will need to:
Build employees’ involvement and self-esteem
Establish an open communication
Recognize and reward the workers
Create an atmosphere of continuous improvement
Proposal
Decreasing the workload of the full-time workforces
As already mentioned, the decline in employee morale and productivity at the company’s Roanoke branch is caused by long hours of working without compensation. For this reason, the company needs first to decrease the workload of our full-time employees to show them that we are determined to improve their working conditions and rebuild their deteriorating morale and productivity. Consequently, we will need to hire part-time employees at Roanoke branch to help when the clients are numerous. Ideally, this will help decrease the workload for our full-time workers at the branch as well as lessen their tensions. It is worth noting that this will be an imperative step towards raising the employee morale and productivity.
Building employees’ involvement and self-esteem
The long hours of working at the branch without compensation have had a negative impact on employee involvement and self-esteem. For this reason, we need to take the necessary measures to rebuild their involvement and boost their self-esteem so as to succeed in increasing their morale and productivity. In an attempt to rebuild employee involvement, we need to remind them the company’s mission and vision so as to make them feel responsible for making the company a success. The branch should also empower them by involving them in making the decisions regarding their duties. The other measures that the branch need to take so as to rebuild the employee involvement are to reward them when they perform beyond the expectations as well as plan social events such as picnics. In an effort to boost employee self-esteem, the branch should reward the best-performing ones and offer them personal and professional training programs.
Establishing and improving communication
As already mentioned, the failure of the company’s branch to let the employees know about the added duties and long hours of working has been one of the main causes of their reduced morale and productivity. For this reason, the management at the branch should endeavor to establish an open communication and improve it. They should create communication programs to help establish a robust work unit as well as working relationships. Besides, they ought to provide the workers with the necessary communication tools and training to help them report issues and concerns whenever they occur. As a matter of fact, the establishment of an open communication will help the company rebuild and raise the employee morale.
Recognizing and reward the workers
The failure of the company to compensate the employees for the extra hours they work is also a major cause of their decreasing morale and productivity. Consequently, recognizing and rewarding them will be an imperative step for the company in solving the problem. The company ought to devise a recognition and reward program to appreciate the efforts shown by the employees at the branch and increase their morale and productivity. In fact, this program should contain a range of rewards such as cash bonuses, vacation trips, certificates, and jewelry, among others. The company should also recognize the employees for their achievements such as the improvement in efficiency. The recognition and different rewards will help raise the employee morale and enhance their productivity. As a result, this will raise the overall productivity of the branch.
Creating an atmosphere of continuous improvement
The company should endeavor to improve the performance of the branch’s workforces continuously. In particular, it will be crucial for the company to provide the workers with professional development to help them update their skills. The company, thus, ought to offer them in-house training, educational opportunities, and mentoring to the branch employees. The company should also keep these employees refreshed and interested by preparing significant periodic retreats so as to energize them and raise their individual focus. Furthermore, the company needs to implement an efficient process of nonstop evaluation. Utilizing the 360-degree feedback surveys will help the company improve the working conditions. Consequently, establishing an atmosphere of continuous feedback will help increase staff morale and productivity.
Schedule
Staffing
Decreasing the workload of the full-time workforces will be facilitated by the hiring of new part-part time employees. Consequently, the company’s human resources managers will be responsible for interviewing and selecting the best candidates for the new part-time positions. These managers must have at least an economics, business, management, or public administration bachelor’s degree from any accredited university. The processes of building employees’ involvement and self-esteem, recognizing and rewarding them, and creating an atmosphere of continuous improvement will also be carried out by these managers. They must possess the necessary skills and knowledge. The communication managers will be responsible for establishing and improving the communication. Regarding the qualifications, this manager will be required to have at least a bachelor’s degree in communications or public relations. The communications manager will also be accountable for generating the strategies to improve the workers’ awareness as well as promote their efficiency. He/she will also ensure that the employees at Roanoke branch are cognizant of the changes within the branch.
Budget
Request for Authorization
This proposal needs to be approved within the next one month. The company ought to act swiftly to prevent the branch from collapsing. The problem of decreasing employee morale and productivity facing Roanoke branch poses a threat to the entire company. It is disheartening to note that this problem has resulted in negative financial consequences. In particular, the branch’s profits have been declining for the past one year thanks to it. For this reason, it is high time we come together and solve it to prevent further consequences. It is worth noting that this plan will increase the employee efficiency and the overall productivity of the branch. In other words, this proposal will help restore the branch to full productivity. It will also facilitate the provision of high-quality services to the clients. Ideally, it will help the company give the clients the value for their money. What is more, the plan will facilitate the overall profitability and success of Phoenix Advertising Company.
