Abstract
One of the major determinants of a company’s success is the extent to which its human resource strategies are aligned with the general corporate and business strategies. An organization may have good corporate and business strategies and good human resource strategies and end up becoming a flop if all these are not well aligned. The main components of the corporation’s HR strategy include ensuring diversity and inclusiveness. The Corporation as a whole also seeks to have such a workforce that is diverse and all-inclusive. Further, the department aims at ensuring efficiency in the provision of its services to the clients and other departments as well. In supporting the main corporate and business strategy, the main strengths of the HR function include a large, diverse, respectful and highly competent HR staff. The main weaknesses include over-reliance on one source of funding and lack of internal knowledge advancement materials such as books for HR practices. The main opportunities include the growing demand for HR practices and increased organization revenue while the main threats included increased regularity for regulatory changes, budget deductions for funds allocated to the department and increased performance pressures from top management.
Background
The Telus Communications Company is a Canada-based company in the telecommunications industry. It was founded in 1990 in Edmonton, Alberta. The main products offered by the company include the CDMA 2000, IDEN, HSPA+, and LTE. The organization had a revenue of CAD$ 12.1 billion by the end of the 2015 fiscal year. By 2013, the organization had a total workforce of 43400 employees (Telus, 2016). This includes all the employees of the holding company and subsidiaries such as the Telus mobility, TV, the internet and public and Koodo Mobile. The company’s employee’s hail from different parts of the globe including the Philippines, the UK, US, Guatemala, Bulgaria, and Romania amongst other regions thereby forming a diverse and all-inclusive workforce.
The Company’s Mission and Vision
The Telus Communications Company has a mission to use the value of diversity to develop an organizational workforce that is competitive and inclusive so that it can be used to unleash the power of the internet in delivering the best solutions to Canadians (Telus, 2016). The company’s HR strategy is consistent with this vision because, as pointed out earlier; the employees come from different parts of the globe.
The company’s mission is in alignment with three main company objectives that include: to get a perfect understanding of the needs and requirements of the client and further enhance the relationship and connection with the customers; lower the cost of production while at the same time improving the competitive position in the whole industry; and establish such a unique brand position that keeps the current customers, attracts potential ones and attracts talents.
The company’s vision focuses on diversity and inclusiveness. It us Telus’s vision to honor diverse beliefs, abilities, and perspectives. The company seeks to use the team’s diversity to gain a competitive edge by valuing the contribution and worth of every team member. Telus seeks to ensure diversity and inclusiveness by honoring and leveraging the traditions, beliefs, abilities, lifestyles and the different perspectives of all team members.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Telus Company has a large workforce of employees from different backgrounds hence different perceptions over various issues. This is a major strength, and it is in alignment with the business corporate that aims to ensure diversity in the corporation’s workforce. HR staff are respectful. As such, they respect the values and perspectives of other members of the organization’s workforce. This is a major strength in supporting the company’s overall business and corporate strategy as it helps them respect to comfortably provide room for all perspectives hence encouraging diversity. The HR staff for the Telus Company are highly competent regarding knowledge and HR technicalities. The department has a comprehensive program to ensure that highly competent HR members of staff, as well as general organizational employees, are recruited. The HR department is staffed with individuals who thirst for a good workplace has been satisfied by the Telus Company. This is a strength of the organization as employees are less likely to transfer to other organizations. It is consistent with the overall business and corporate strategy in that it facilitates retention of a highly competent workforce. Finally, the HR staff is ready and willing to receive and respond questions and inquiries from the clients who are mainly composed of Telus' employees.
Weaknesses
Telus’ HR department over-relies on funding from the organization’s finance department even for the minor expenses. This is a weakness and it hamper's the ability of the department to support corporate and business strategies in that it lowers its efficiency. In spite of the high level of technology in the department, the department does not maximize its efficiency potential as most the members of staff lack the technical, technological know-how and there are no technology experts. The HR department does not have a wealthy knowledge resource pool. There are no materials to be used by members of HR staff to advance their HR practices technical know-how. As much as the department has enhanced racial equity and diversity, diversity lacks in knowledge, skills, and competence as members of staff are highly dominated by HR practices experts. This masks the ability of the department to support corporate and business strategy.
Opportunities
One of the major departmental objectives is the growing demand for its services. Growing demand for HR services is likely to lead to growth in HR supply hence increased innovation (Fekete, 2014). Further, the HR department has a super strategy that outlines its intentions in supporting the main corporate and business strategy. Organizational support is all about strategy. An organization’s function such as the HR function cannot purport to be successful in future if its strategy is poor. Also, to the favorable conditions of the department's environment includes the predicted growth of the company as a result of the national and international growth of the Telecommunications Industry. It is rather obvious that local and global growth of the industry is likely to provide such a mega market opportunity for the HR function to renders its services. Relatively a high number of HR practitioners in the Canadian economy. An additional opportunity is the increased organizational revenue that is likely to trickle down to departmental funding.
Threats
The threats for HR practices in the Telus Company include the regular regulatory changes by the company as a result of changes in the government. Such changes cause a lot of business discomfort and uncertainties. With such frequent changes, the organization, so are the departments is placed in such a position that it is difficult for it to predict its future. Further, the HR function has, recently, been receiving performance pressures from the telecommunications from top management. Such pressures compel it to keep reviewing its strategy even during implementation thereby increasing the cost of production. Budget reductions hence financial constraints have as well been posing as major threats. The additional threat is the emerging technology that purports to perform the function perfectly.
The above analysis has been summarized in the table below:
References
Fekete, I. (2014). Telus Sees Largest Growth vs. Rogers, Bell in 2014 Interbrand Canada Rankings | iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource. Iphoneincanada.ca. Retrieved 16 February 2016, from http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/telus-grows-in-interbrand-canada-rankings/
Telus. (2016). About TELUS - Investor relations. Retrieved 16 February 2016, from http://about.telus.com/community/english/investor_relations
Telus. (2016). Telus History. Retrieved 16 February 2016 from http://about.telus.com/community/english/news_centre/company_overview/company_history
