Question.2479 - Course Project II is due this week. Project II Consists of a rough draft of the manual. Some parts will be more complete than others because of the way material is covered in the course. Project Tips and Templates. Remember to submit your assignment. 1. The course project should be 12-15 full pages in length, double-spaced. 2. Download the project template(Links to an external site.) (https://lms.devry.edu/lms/CourseExport/manual/files/DVU/HRM410/HRM410%20Course%20Project% . You must use the template for this project. 3. Even though the manual is a business document, it is to be written in APA format.
Answer Below:
COMPANY BACKGROUND Solar Static is a brand in the renewable energy sector with its headquarters in California. Incorporated in the year 2017, the organization focused on selling innovative solar products meant for households and industrial purposes. One of its major products is the solar home automation system that acts as a turnkey solution. In a span of 3 years, Solar Static rapidly expanded from 10 employees to 135 employees clocking revenue of 10 million dollars in the last financial year. Solar Static is focused on constant innovation and has been investing on its human resources to overtake the competitive rivalry. The organization is now offering services in 3 countries and is looking to expand to 10 countries in another 5 years. It believes in working as per the franchise model. This model will help in rapid expansion and the brand can operate from its headquarters. After the massive demand for solar products, Solar Static has also been inviting investors to be a part of its offerings. This is an approach meant to diversify its products and explore new arenas. OUR DEFINITION OF STRATEGIC STAFFING Strategic staffing indicates the approach where limited core employees for permanent roles are chosen while temporary employees are engaged for specialized roles. According to Gaines (2018), strategic staffing is followed as a means to achieve a sustainable method to handle staffing concerns that can break out immediately or anytime in the near future. According to Solar Static, strategic staffing is critical to handle workforce better and also to rapidly expand across the world. In fact, its vision to expand to 10 countries in the next 5 years thoroughly aligns with strategic staffing. STAFFING HANDBOOK 3 Back in 2017, the organization started its business only with 10 employees. All these employees worked full-time. As there was a need to market products and expand the product availability across the region, Solar Static has decided to enhance staff utilization. As a result, it focused on building talents of existing employees and then engaged 20 remote employees that worked as per the contract. Going forward, it has decided to expand to 135 employees in 2021. There is only one change here – only 42 employees are permanent and work full-time while the rest are temporary. There are several advantages of strategic staffing. According to Gaines (2018), it establishes a systematic approach to handle HR concerns, enhance utilization of staff, and make arrangements for future staffing issues. While other temporary employees were concerned about regular jobs and long-term consignments, the organization still had a solution to engage them continuously. In fact, there were also consignments like marketing and expansion of Solar Static’s products and services to other countries. This kept them associated with the brand for quite a long time. This also controlled the likelihood for future staffing issues. If some of the permanent employees drop out, there is always the opportunity for temporary employees to get in and then become permanent employees. The organization has made arrangements to handle these needs. As rightly mentioned by Gaines (2018), strategic staffing in Solar Static followed four major steps – identification, recruiting, development, and retention. All these steps focused on management of expertise and better handling of talents based on their availability and contribution levels in the firm. Solar Static defines strategic staffing as an important way to manage budgets and also control potential constraints arising from employees (permanent or temporary). STAFFING HANDBOOK 4 JOB ANALYSIS Solar Static is constantly hiring marketing executives to take the brand to other countries across the world. Hence, this role is taken for the analysis throughout this assessment. Job Content The job involves a contract for 1 year that will be renewed each year based on the performance and contribution to the organization. The job demands the marketing executive to build the brand by reaching more customers and staying aligned with internal marketing strategies to promote new solar products and also contribute towards better ideas (Prospects, 2021). While Solar Static does have an internal marketing team to take care of the marketing needs, there is a need for field marketing executives that can build rapport with housing communities and organizations to sell solar automation systems. The job involves working in a fast-paced environment that is vulnerable to changes and the executive might have to quickly interact with the team to update its marketing strategy and provide better numbers whenever they are low. There are abundant opportunities and Solar Static might also be keen to offer access to learning programs if the candidate is keen to upskill knowledge and abilities. Note – The exact role might also vary based on the immediate need of the organization but it largely links to the sales of automation products produced by Solar Static. Requirements - The candidate should hold a bachelor’s degree in social sciences or marketing. Post graduate degree is completely optional. STAFFING HANDBOOK 5 - Past experience in building a brand and increasing conversions for the product would be an add-on. - The candidate appearing for the role should initially work on a contract and be ready to switch to a permanent position if the organization needs. - The candidate is required to attend weekly marketing and sales meetings on Friday to discuss targets, achievements, and failures. These meetings are mandatory to plan proposals ahead. Note – The job also expects the candidate to be ready to travel to other countries if there is a need for Solar Static. There are no fixed working hours but the candidate is expected to meet the sales targets as planned. Competencies Some of the key competencies expected from the candidate are interpersonal skills, analytical skills, customer management, negotiation, teamwork, strategic thinking, social media management, and flexibility (Prospects, 2021). As Solar Static is likely to expand to other countries, the candidate might also be expected to conduct market research, evaluate competitor performances, and travel to other countries if needed to socialize with local stakeholders. During every weekly meeting, the executive would be expected to produce marketing performance reports to understand return on investment and profitability for the month. While extensive background experience in this field is not mandatory, it continues to help the candidate to progress to the next level where the candidate can become marketing coordinator followed by marketing manager. STAFFING HANDBOOK 6 Compensation As per the flexible working time given to the candidate with openness to work anytime but complete sales targets, the starting salary is $38,000 per annum. There are performance bonuses and incentives based on the performance. This is offered every month. There is scope for the candidate to go on to the next level within a year. In that case, the candidate gets a chance to receive a hike in the salary and it can reach up to $52,000 per annum. These are the numbers for temporary candidates. There is additional $10,000 per annum paid to permanent employees and at anytime, a temporary employee can become a permanent employee in Solar Static. LEGAL ASPECTS OF STAFFING In engaging employees as per the strategic staffing plan of Solar Static, there are several legal aspects involved. According to ICLG (2021), there are strict laws towards employee representation, employee termination, sales, data protection, and discrimination. The first aspect is the need to classify staff based on the role and involvement. It is essential to draw a line between temporary and permanent workers as this will help in classifying their duties, compensations, and other internal procedures. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) pays strong attention to decisions made by the union towards a specific employer or the organization (ICLG, 2021). There is no scope for industrial strikes and unfair labor practices. In enabling temporary employees to work with the firm, the employer is prohibited to promote work council within the country. As a result, temporary employees cannot represent at the board and make any decisions. The second legal aspect is closely linked to the contract being established with the employee. In several cases, disputes between employees and employers arise when contracts are STAFFING HANDBOOK 7 not signed or there are issues in the current document. The contract has to include answers for time duration, worker’s compensation, longevity of work, and clause for employee rejection. Another critical legal aspect is the consideration of immigration and local laws. As Solar Static might engage resources from the home country to another country for the sake of work, it needs to abide by the US federal laws that explain about worker’s compensation, fair treatment, and immigration management (EEOC, 2021). Any unintentional violation can also put the entire resource at stake. Likewise, wrongful termination and discrimination are against labor laws of the United States. RECRUITING Recruiting is an important phase in human resource management followed by Solar Static. The organization is very specific about elimination of employees under discriminatory grounds. According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2021), organizations tend to apply a range of strategies including job advertisements, application, recruitment, job referrals, background checks, employment references, and application and hiring. The recruiting strategy is the key for Solar Static to rapidly increase its employee count from 10 to 135 in a short span. In the case of Solar Static, it has recruited candidates so far through job advertisements in its own website and job referrals by internal employees. While there are job referrals permitted, the management prioritizes background checks to ensure that the person is ideal for the organization and is aware of the mission and vision. It also abides by the job referral policy made by EEOC (2021). According to this policy, a job referral should take the legal way as an employment agency should never consider factors like religion, disability, race, and national STAFFING HANDBOOK 8 origin in recruiting a person (EEOC, 2021). This extends till job assignment, incentive, and promotions. Sample Posting SOLAR STATIC We are hiring at Solar Static!! Solar Static, a leading solar product innovator, is hiring 10 marketing executives. What do you need? Good communication skills Good analytical ability Social media management Negotiation skill Past experience in marketing (not mandatory) A bachelor’s degree in business management or marketing (MUST) Location – California Salary – Up to $38,000 p.a. Experience – 0-2 years Flexible position with huge scope to scale higher Contractual role Are you the right person? APPLY TODAY For queries and application, mail to hr@solarstatic.com The typical job poster that is circulated by the brand for recruiting a marketing executive is presented above. It includes all necessary information including job content, competencies, compensation, and method to apply. STAFFING HANDBOOK 9 SELECTION The selection process is entirely different from recruitment. During recruitment, candidates are invited to apply for the job of marketing executive available at Solar Static. However, as soon as the applications are received, the next step is to select the right candidate for the work. In the next section, the interview process followed by Solar Static is detailed and interview questions are also listed. Interview Process The selection process in Solar Static is currently engaging employees only from the United States for its headquarters. The sample job post is also customized accordingly. According to Ekwoaba et al. (2015), criteria for candidate recruitment and selection directly impact the performance of an organization. The selection process is formulated in an aim to rope in candidates with the right caliber. The first step of the interview process begins with the hiring need. In this case, it is the need to hire a marketing executive to handle its new campaigns. As job description and advertisements are already published, candidates would start applying through the website or via references from existing employees. In the phase of hiring need, the vision of this role is detailed to ensure that the candidate meets it without fail. The second step is to perform an application review where the hiring manager manually reviews every application and discards applications based on criteria like competencies, past experiences, compensation received earlier, skills, and qualification (Collings & Wood, 2018). To select one candidate, Solar Static would review applications of at least 20-30 applicants to give way for the right candidate to join the position. STAFFING HANDBOOK 10 The third step is phone interview. Due to the risk associated with COVID-19, phone interview is conducted to find out if the candidate is aware of culture and process of the organization. This step is also followed to filter applicants based on their negotiation skills, communication, and leadership. This is a method followed to cut down unnecessary costs as well. The next step is to carry personal interviews. This will be a round where the candidate appears before a panel of experts at Solar Static that have a clear understanding on what the organization needs and how the same can be achieved. The discussion will touch subjects learned, real-time situations and decisions, and background understanding. The next step is to perform a background check of filtered applicants which can reduce to less than 10 people. The final step is to filter 3 applicants and have a talk with the hiring director to assess fitness and then choose one of them to issue the offer letter. The interview process follows confidentiality and privacy of candidates. At any instance, the interview process is never compromised at Solar Static and is always carried out as per the regulations listed in EEOC (2021). Equal opportunities and access to resources are offered to applicants. Interview questions (at least 8) which are legal, non-generic, and specific to the position 1. Are you in a position to fulfill the desired duties of this job as a marketing executive? 2. Have you ever been convicted in the past due to a crime? 3. Are you open to working overtimes if there is a need? 4. Are you legally approved to reside in the United States? 5. Do you have necessary documents including driving license to meet our stakeholders around in your vehicle or company’s? STAFFING HANDBOOK 11 6. How open and inclusive are you to work in a diverse team? 7. Are you in a position to share dependent information if you are hired? 8. Would you be in a position to share your educational certificates and experiences supporting your eligibility for this role? Pre-employment Tests and Assessments Solar Static prioritizes pre-employment test to ensure that it follows a fair and equitable approach to recruit, select, and hire the right individual. The organization conducts three pre- employment tests for every individual undergoing selection process. Since the job of marketing executive involves adequate travel and meeting people, the tests are physical ability tests, personality tests, and job knowledge tests. The physical ability assessment is conducted to ensure that the applicant is physically capable to move around and has desired strength (Collings & Wood, 2018). As per Americans with Disabilities act, people with disability should be included but necessary exceptions should be made in the job to suit the physical condition. On the other hand, the personality test assesses cultural fitness, emotional capability, and traits that match with the expectations of the brand. The personality test is also meant to find out if the person is motivated to commit at work as per the expectation (Collings & Wood, 2018). The job knowledge test is conducted in an aim to find out if the person is intellectually aware of needs, duties, and responsibilities to be fulfilled upon being hired by the organization. Perhaps, the learning speed is not considered. Instead, the desire to learn is considered for hiring. STAFFING HANDBOOK 12 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Solar Static follows a highly engaging and learning environment that makes use of several performance management strategies to upgrade performance levels and also develop capabilities on the whole. The first strategy is to assess if the employee has met the goals set for the year (Dessler & Varrkey, 2020). While the teams meet every Friday to discuss targets, there are also key result areas and performance indicators set by the organization to every resource based on the job background. The second strategy is the usage of balanced scorecard to evaluate merits and demerits of the employee based on performances for the year. This strategy is also used to determine areas for improvement and enable respective heads to offer detailed feedback and guidance to perform better. The third strategy is continuous improvement (Dessler & Varrkey, 2020). As mentioned in the job description, Solar Static makes arrangements for marketing executives wanting to study and continue learning in the future. There are also roundtables organized between all levels of management to enable knowledge-sharing. Such events are meant to ensure that employees undergo continuous improvement. The final and the most effective performance management strategy is compensation management. In fact, several employees get motivated for being recognized and appreciated. Rewards and bonuses are a few ways to motivate employees to perform better. The job description mentioned in the previous section also states the openness of the organization to let employees scale to higher levels within a span of a year if desired capabilities and performances are observed. STAFFING HANDBOOK 13 RETENTION There are several ways followed by Solar Static to retain employees in the long run. The first strategy is reward distribution which thoroughly aligns with the performance management strategy. The purpose of this reward distribution is to motivate employees and give them the space to innovate and fulfill the purpose (Dessler & Varrkey, 2020). The public recognition of employees gives them an opportunity to explore the business freely. This is open to permanent and temporary employees working with Solar Static. The second retention strategy is to build team spirit through two ways – training and work-life balance (Dessler & Varrkey, 2020). As much as targets are focused, Solar Static also stresses on being a supporter and a facilitator for employees to rely on and take necessary breaks. Training helps them to perform better. On the other hand, the work-life balance gives them breaks to manage work and personal lives without hassles. CLOSING SUMMARY Solar Static has been in the field of renewable energy for a short span but has grown rapidly because of its employee-centric strategies. These strategies are concerned about the development of employees over the organization. However, it does not compromise on its recruitment and selection processes either. All the existing human resource management processes are inline with the labor laws of the United States. Being an inclusive organization, retention and performance management are highly motivational and supportive to employees (permanent and temporary). STAFFING HANDBOOK 14 References Collings, D. G., & Wood, G. (2018). Human resource management: A critical approach. London: Routledge. Dessler, G., Varrkey, B. (2020). Human resource management, 16 th ed. USA: Pearson. Ekwoaba, JO., Ikeije, UU., Ufoma, N. (2015). The impact of recruitment and selection criteria on organizational performance. Global Journal of Human Resource Management, 3(2), 22-33. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2021). Coverage of Employment Agencies. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/coverage-employment- agencies Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (2021). Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment- policiespractices Gaines, S. (2018). Strategic Staffing: Meaning, Advantages and Steps. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@kyliedgaines/strategic-staffing-meaning-advantages-and-steps- d01d927c34b3 ICLG (2021). Employment and labor law. Retrieved from https://iclg.com/practice- areas/employment-and-labour-laws-and-regulations/usa Prospects (2021). Marketing executive. Retrieved from https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job- profiles/marketing-executiveMore Articles From Human Resource
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