Our company has recently started exploring the market. The progressive and innovative decision the company has taken led to a number of positive outcomes: stable customers and stable financial state of affairs. Importantly, the small remote surveillance cameras – the main item we produce – became the matter of interest of the governmental agencies. Through a clear and public procedure, the company has managed to win a contract to provide the governmental bodies with the surveillance items. Prior to the establishment of the comprehensive cooperation between our company and the governmental agencies, we are required to properly fulfill the needs in our good within the home state, whereas the successful outcomes of this probation give us the opportunity to settle the contract covering the cooperation within the whole country. To achieve the very first goal, I was entitled to develop the staffing strategy to comply with the task given.
Discussion
At the beginning, we put the goal of securing a larger facility and hire more staff to be able to cope with the first part of the contract. Mainly, the staff will include ten qualified employees. Notwithstanding the existence of concrete positions to be held by the employees we hire, the governmental agencies set in the contract the clause, in accordance with which the staffing plan has to be provided to ensure the proper deliveries of the services and, generally speaking, the execution of the contract. In the face of this task, we have to develop the staffing models to be applied within the company. The one was built to support the development of staffing strategies and plans including all staff that directly support the activities of the unit (Bechet, 2008). Before choosing the proper model, the accent shall be paid to the issues which often arise, while dealing with the staff. Firstly, unclear accountability for staffing decisions is an average dilemma, when work-around practices become common (p.146).
Secondly, the plan itself shall be precisely clear for all the stakeholders to be able to understand what is written down, otherwise there could be merely chaos within the organization.
The staffing plan the core in which the model will be foreseen describes the high level organizational structure and identifies the skills, roles, responsibilities, and number of personnel required for the project (Goodyear, 1999). The plan shall incorporate dependencies among the activities, staffing levels (ramp-up, ramp-down and peak), effects of learning and trainings on the performance of the staff as well as available staffing resources. As a part thereof, staffing models shall incorporate a number of key issues: a structure for staff scheduling, staff interactions, general picture of work activity with the relevant variables of time spent therefor, information about the current performance within the organization, and tools used to deal with different issues arising within the organization.
Referring to the work of Bechet (p.105), we can elaborate two possible staffing scenarios to be incorporated into the relevant model. The first one is based on the presumption that by hiring qualified employees we will be able to deal with the contract conducted with governmental agencies. This scenario is also broadened by the presumption that the skills and experience of the managers hired to organize the work of tech personnel will be enough to satisfy the counteragents’ demands. The second scenario differs from the previous one and shall be considered as the alternative in case things went worse, than it had been expected.
Pursuant the terminology of Bechet (p.106), the second scenario can be named a ‘what-if scenario’, whereas the latter is based on the failure of the first one to work out. Even though we defined two possible scenarios, the paper is largely based on the success of the first one, when the staff shall consist of the following skillful employees, namely ten (10) Assembly Technicians, one (1) Certified Quality Control Engineer, one (1) Contract Administrator, and one (1) Office Support Paraprofessional.
In order to properly support the scenario at issue, the supervisory models shall be applied. However, among them, concerning the limitation of a number of employees, full-in-house job management model can be applied. This very model is based on the need for obtaining the best result possible, when the resources are scarce. Under this model, a person can perform more, than one task and, de facto, hold more, than one position. The complexity of the work given and the timeframe require the personnel to be flexible enough to be able to concentrate on different tasks depending on the general situation in the company. Of course, this model after the successful performance will be gradually substituted with the position management, however, the present situation requires the former for the first stages.
Though, the control is limited while applying this model and the level of motivation cannot be always measures properly, the model at stake can be supported with the other staffing models. The proper supervision over the tasks given can be satisfied, while temporary workforce services model is applied: the latter consists in the division between short- and long-term tasks which are given to the employees.
The division enables the managers to establish their approach towards the control over the activities of the personnel. Certified Quality Control Engineer hired by the company can ensure the successful implementation of the long-term assignments, whereas the chosen among the staff most experienced workers can perform the functions of the supervisors over the short-term goals.
The possible outcomes of the full in-house job management model taken in conjunction with temporary workforce services model are as follows: the proper control over the activities of the employees, particularly over the outsourcing engineers, the supervision over the performance of the main and additional assignments, and accountability for each action before the governmental agencies.
As to the legal issues which could arise, when certain candidates are not selected, whereas the others are hired, it should be noted that the arbitrary refusal to hire a person is the main potential claim that can be made. It can be based, possibly, on the discrimination accusations that can result in a reputation loss. Notwithstanding these issues, the latter can be still prevented.
At first, the exhaustive requirements and criteria for the staff shall be foreseen, thus the refusal will be based on non-fulfillment thereof. Secondly, those who do not have necessary certifications and credentials shall be provided with written refusal later signed by them, in which the candidates agree not to initiate any trials against the company based on the refusal. Concerning the treatment within the organization of those employees hired, it shall be noted that the fact, when certain group of them is paid better, than the other one can be the basis for additional complaints causing the legal issues within the organization. This requires the proper level of transparency in the company.
Returning to the job requirements, we understand the importance of proper and clear job descriptions which should attract the most skillful candidates to be involved in the company’s activity. The company has no intension to waste its and governmental agencies’ valuable time organizing the interviews with the candidates who have no idea in the field of surveillance items. Thus, the very first method applied by us to clarify the job requirements is a job analysis including, but not limited to the search for the job responsibilities of current employees, Internet research and sample job descriptions online (Heathfield, 2016). The second part of the analysis will cover and research on the duties, tasks and responsibilities necessary to be a part of the company’s team working under the very intense schedule. Second method applied is about the formulation of the normal components of job description, namely overall position description with general areas of responsibility listed, essential functions of the job described with a couple of examples of each, required knowledge, skills, and abilities, and required education and experience (Heathfield, 2016).
Taking into account the fact that the process of team creation shall be finished as soon as possible, the effectiveness of job description will largely depend on a number of applications lodged thereafter. In fact, the job description will be changed just after the leaders are found who will control the process of other tech personnel. The job description will be amended, particularly, in the part of salary and position’s responsibilities. Thus, there will be two main period of employee hunting: hunting for the leaders and for the technical staff.
Regarding the high employee turnover with the necessary skills and experience, the company will introduce the contracts in which the clause regarding the performance of services will be interrelated with the salary given. Thus, the workers will be better paid if the work properly. The sum of money paid to the employees will be adjusted to the highest market standards so as to not to lose the latter. However, simultaneously there will be a competency screening through onsite interview and tests on the mechanisms and technology of our items. This will ensure that we work with the right people who perform their duties properly. Secondly, all the employees will be engaged in all the internal processes and those who are more experienced in the company will be praised and offered management positions to share their knowledge with the others. And, thirdly, the proper HR management will be introduced offering the interesting and creative tasks for everybody and providing the employees with proper work-life balance conditions. When these professional and well-trained employees remain, the level of on-time and effective performance will only rise.
References
Bechet, T. (2008). Strategic Staffing: A Comprehensive System for Effective Workforce Planning. New York: Amacom.
Goodyear, M. (1999). Enterprise System Architectures: Building Client/Server and Web-based Systems. New York: Auerbach Publications
Heathfield, S. (July 2016). How to Develop a Job Description. The Balance
