Introduction
The human resources department is one of the most important departments in an organization. Whether in a manufacturing or a service firm, the HRM department is mandated with the responsibility of creating and developing human capital, which is essential in achieving the organizational goals. Essentially, it is instrumental in ensuring that the efforts of the individual members of the organization are aligned to the overall objectives and goals of the organization. Organizations have become dynamic and this has created a need for well selected and trained employees. Organizations are learning of the importance of aligning the human resource management strategy to the overall strategy of the organization. As a result, organizations are now creating human resources management strategy, which is the overall plan that enables the implementation of specific HRM policies in different functional areas. Such strategies guide the different personal decisions taken by organizations in ensuring that the employees fit best into the organization. Therefore, the HRM should formulate and implement measures geared towards attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining highly qualified personnel (Brown 22). While all kind of jobs require training and development, bank telling may require a comprehensive form of training. It can be attributed to the high risk that is associated with this kind of job. Additionally, bank telling job involves direct handling of cash, which may pose many threats to the organization if measures are not taken to training and educate the bank tellers.
Onboarding /Job Training
The first day at a bank telling job can be hard, especially if adequate training is not provided to the employees. Training is a term that is used to refer to the process of imparting specific knowledge, abilities, and skills to employees (Egger-Peitler et al.,). It is any attempt that is geared towards improving the current or the future performance of the employees by increasing their ability to perform through improving their skills and knowledge or through changing the employees’ attitudes. While training and education sound as distinct terms, they are very complementary in that any employee who undergoes training is presumed to have had some kind of formal classroom education (Lashley 34). The human resources function should ensure that employees, especially the new ones feel welcomed in the organization. Job training should first seek to establish the respective responsibilities of the bank tellers orient them to their roles and identify any specific needs of the employees. The extent to which job training achieves its objectives will be determined by the degree to which the training process focuses on the individual training needs of the bank tellers.
The new hire’s first day at the job would entail integrating him or her to the work environment. It should target to prepare the employee for the task that he or she is expected to performance. Ideally, the kind of training in the first day would involve education the employee regarding the rules and procedures that need to be adhered to while performing the tasks assigned and the organizational goals and objectives. It is very important for any HRM function to note that employees do not live in a perfect world. Employees tend to be nervous during their first day in their job. The first day should seek to make the employees feel comfortable and at the right place (Brown 36). It can be done by assuring the employees that they have made the right choice by joining the organization and that the organization is committed to providing any kind of support they would require.
If possible, it is not recommended to place the bank tellers at their places of work in the first day. For a good start, the first day should involve moving the new employees round the bank and introducing them to colleagues, supervisors, and managers. For instance, the employee should interact with the credit manager, branch manager, and supervisor. The first day should also entail introducing the new employees to the basic organizational amenities, which are essential for wellbeing of the employees (Lashley 28). They should feel comfortable at the bank. Making the bank teller feel comfortable is very instrumental in aligning his or her mind to the bank by assuring him or her that the organization is committed to his or her personal well-being. Additionally, the first day should also entail ethical training, where the new bank tellers will be trained on the ethical conduct expected of them. Essentially, theoretical training would best fit the employees first day at their new job. Use of presentation as a training method for the first day can be very useful in training the new bank tellers. Use of technology in training the bank employees is important is saving training time. For instance, this can be done through the use of video conferencing tools.
Within the first six months, additional training can be conducted either using on-job or hands on job training methods. On job training involves offering training as the employees are conducting their responsibilities. For instance, the trainer may sit alongside the bank tellers while they are transacting with customers. While the tellers undertake their tasks, the trainer will identify the areas that need improvement. Once these areas are identified, the teller will be trained immediately. An advantage of this kind of training is that it minimizes the time lost in training sessions as employees do not have to move from their work sites. Additionally, on-job training offers an opportunity for the employees to practice the new skills and knowledge in the right away (Lashley 71). It can be very instrumental in ensuring that the employees seek clarifications on the technical areas. The on-the-job training will be carried out by having the new bank tellers watch more experienced employees.
An effective employee onboarding process should have a domino effect in that it should ensure that employees feel prepared for their tasks. It is important in giving the bank tellers confidence in their abilities. Onboarding should target to clarify the bank’s culture to the tellers as well as allowing them to think beyond just the first few days in the organization.
Career Development
In most instances, training and career development go hand in hand. Extensive training leads to career development. All employees need to be assured of their career development and a future growth in their organization. One way of achieving career development for the bank tellers is through promotions. For instance, the bank tellers can be promoted to branch managers and bank operations supervisor. Job promotion increases job satisfaction and morale of the employees (Brown 39). It is also key in improving the motivation of the bank tellers. Promotion should be equitable in that it should not be based on subjective measures but rather on objective considerations, such as employee performance. At the same time, the career development should give a chance to the employees to adapt to new technological capacities in the bank telling job. In developing bank tellers, different approaches can be used. For instance, coaching and mentoring can be very instrumental in career development. Coaching will entail a peer or a manager who works with the bank teller motivating and developing the teller while providing feedback and reinforcements. On the other hand, a mentor can be used to develop bank tellers who are less experienced.
In order to develop a successful monitoring program, career support, psychological support, and group mentoring programs are essential. Creating a psychological contract, which highlights the expectations that the employer and the employee has in each other is also important in developing the bank tellers.
The bank tellers should also be guided on how to work on their weaknesses while improving on their strengths. Such development can be achieved by understanding the future plans of the employees, which includes their future locations and experience needed.
Compensation
Compensation is another key strategy that can be used by organizations to retain and develop key employees. The main purpose of an effective compensation strategy is to give the sright rewards to the right employees. Ideally, compensation acts as a very important motivation factor. Aligning the compensation strategy to the overall organization strategy is very critical. A right compensation strategy should ensure that the rewards offered to the bank tellers match their expertise and performance (Lashley 35). In designing the best salary for the bank tellers, it is very essential to consider the pay of other bankers in the industry. It is to ensure that the bank recruits and retains the best employees in the organization. The rewards offered to the bank tellers can be divided into two main categories; monetary and non-monetary rewards. The monetary rewards may include salary, commissions, health benefits, retirements, and bonuses. On the other hand, the non-monetary rewards include meaningful as well as challenging work, career advancement, healthy and safe working environment, and fair treatment of employees. Bench marking competitors’ benefit issues will be essential in ensuring that the organization stays up with the competitors which in turn will be critical in retaining the top employees.
The new bank tellers, especially those fresh from college are likely to be motivated by the monetary rewards as compared to the non-monetary rewards. Therefore, in this case, the compensation strategy will focus on providing higher salaries as compared to the competitors in the industry. In order to attract top quality employees, a pay of $27000 a month will be ideal. This has been chosen considering that the industry pays an average of $14,125-$27,121 (U.S. Bank Teller Salaries). The average salary of $ 11 per hour acts as a good bench mark for the bank teller salary to be offered to the employees (U.S Payscale). Offering a higher pay is critical in attracting the best employees in the market. However, keeping the employees may not be determined by the salaries only. Equitable compensation is very important as factor in retaining and motivating employees as well. If employees notice unfairness and inequity in compensation, their motivation and morale are affected significantly (Brown 47). As such, the bank should not make the pay raise a top secret. Instances of pay secrecy may imply a subjective and indefensible compensation plan.
New employees are particularly very keen in comparing their pay to that of colleagues whom that feel are in the same job ladder. Pay secrecy may create mistrust and as such, it may lead to demotivation and organizational ineffectiveness. In some instances, the competitors many have a stronger financial ability. In such a situation, it may be very important to explain the financial situation to the employees in a bid to prevent them from leaving the organization.
For a bank teller, pay for performance can be a good compensation strategy. It is very important in improving the personal performance of the employees. For instance, compensation can be based on the number of transactions completed by the employees. At the same time, pay can also be based on the number of customers served. By implementing this compensation strategy, the organization stands to benefits from increased organization effectiveness and better performance (Brown 63). However, for this strategy to be effective there is a need to ensure that the performance measurement techniques are seen as objective and not subjective. The point method can be a critical job evaluation criterion in evaluating the performance of a bank teller. Therefore, the compensation strategy should differentiate between the poor performers, average performance and top performers. A word of caution is important when implementing ‘pay for performance’; if not well implemented, the poor performers may end up leaving the organization. Therefore, an organization should implement strategies that instill confidence in the poor performers.
Conclusion
The human resources department is instrumental in creating an effective workforce in an organization that is aligned to the overall objectives of the organization. Some key practices that can be undertaken by the HRM department to attract and train key employees include job training, career development, and compensation strategy. A bank telling job demands a very comprehensive training, considering the technical expertise required in the job. Additionally, ethical training is very important for this kind of job. ‘Pay for performance’ is critical in improving the performance of individual bank tellers and in turn creating organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
Works Cited
Bank Teller Salary". Payscale.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
"U.S. Bank Teller Salaries". Glassdoor. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Brown, Duane. Career Choice And Development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002. Print.
Lashley, Conrad. Empowerment. Oxford: Butterworth/Heinemann, 2001. Print.
Egger-Peitler, Isabell, Gerhard Hammerschmid and Renate Meyer Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (2007, September). Motivation, Identification, and Incentive Preferences As Issues For Modernization and HR Strategies in Local Government—First Evidence from Austria. In Annual Conference of the European Group of Public Administration, Madrid, Spain, September (Vol. 19, No. 22, pp. 169-79).
