Overcoming HR Challenges in Downsizing Manufacturing
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
2 likes•867 views
The document discusses human resource challenges at PAC Resources, a manufacturing company undergoing downsizing. It identifies barriers to achieving business goals and the need for innovation in manufacturing processes and talent retention. The success of PAC Resources relies on key capabilities of employees such as practical skills, learning ability, and adherence to principles. Challenges include staff reductions, legal issues, and ensuring HR strategy aligns with organizational goals. The human resources director needs to take a collaborative leadership role to integrate HR initiatives into the overall company strategy.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Overcoming HR Challenges in Downsizing Manufacturing
Similar to Overcoming HR Challenges in Downsizing Manufacturing (20)
Overcoming HR Challenges in Downsizing Manufacturing
- 1. PAC Resources Overcoming human resource challenges in a downsizing manufacturing environment. January 24, 2015 By Stan Phillips UMUC HRMN 495 Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management Dr. Stephen Kenealy 1
- 2. Maintain a competitive market position. Utilize human capital knowledge. Align organizational strengths, decrease “silos.” Expand global marketing footprint. Best practices in current processes (Gusdorf). PAC Resources Introduction to overcoming challenges Identifiable barriers to achieve measurable outcomes in supporting sustainable operations. 2
- 3. Innovation in manufacturing processes. Cost containment best practices. Talent, identifying, recruiting, and retaining. PAC Resources Capabilities PAC has many possible capabilities, the three listed are primary to their organizational success to deliver value. 3 (Ulrich, n.d.)
- 4. Practical/theory of position. Capacity to learn and perform. Behavioral patterns to adhere to principles. PAC Resources Competentices The KSA’s of each employee build the foundation to secure the vision of the organization. 4 (Ulrich, 2012)
- 5. PAC Resources Challenges 5 Assess Risks Resolve legal Issues. Staff Reductions Align HR with Organizational Goals Sense of Urgency Management Buy- In Increase Growth Opportunities (Kotter, 2012)
- 6. 6 PAC Resources SWOT Summary PAC needs new ideas, a unified strategic plan, not silos or complacency. This won’t be easy Vision, sense of urgency We have global opportunities, lets explore those Global you say? (Google Images, 2014)
- 7. Human resource director targeting HR initiatives. ROI of training outcomes. Analysis of costs of benefits. Cost of labor per employee. Taking the lead for any disciplinary actions. PAC Resources Summary Human resources leadership needs to take a proactive collaborative effort to integrate into the organizational strategy, starting with 7
- 8. 8 References Google (2014). Images. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1506&bih=692&q=stick+figure &oq=stick+figure&gs_l=img.3..0l10.2177.5035.0.5316.12.7.0.5.5.0.101.609.6j1.7.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.61.img..0.12. 687.JgDD_v36eTM Gusdorf, M. (2011). PAC Resources, Inc. A Case Study in HR Practices. SHRM, pp. 1-22. Kotter, J. (2012). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press. Ulrich, D. (2012). What’s next for HR? The six competencies HR needs for today’s challenges. Retrieved from Personnel Today. http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/whats-next-for-hr-the-six-competencies-hr-needs-for-todays- challenges/ Ulrich, D. (n.d.) RBL Group. Retrieved January 23, 2015. From: http://youtu.be/zZ6IVYScsuc
Editor's Notes
- PAC Resources is a mid-size 800+ employee company started in the early 90’s to manufacturer high-quality specialty components for the computer industry. CEO David Dukakis, a young engineer in Silicon Valley left and started this firm. The economy is retracting and some tough decisions have to be made regarding employee cutbacks, aligning departmental “silos” to be more collaborative, and to start assembling a roadmap for the future of PAC Resources. Human resources can be PAC’s partner in this transition, by providing expertise in making sure PAC has the right people, with the right behaviors to navigate any downturn. By utilizing new or existing tools to provide quantitative outcomes to support managements goals. To assess risk to the organization of legal matters, union issues, and needed training to align line managers KSA’s the required goals of the organization. This will entail solving some in-house priorities in the short-term and outsourcing/consulting to resolve more significant matters (legal) by minimizing the impact on PAC Resources (Gusdorf, M., 2011).
- In identifying barriers, the SWOT analysis will provide the challenges to overcome in PAC Resources. To achieve measurable results, during the case study, management has already mandated a 10% staffing reduction, and elimination of all bonus systems while maintaining the health and security (health insurance and 401K plans) that serve as the retirement compensation plan for this organization. PAC has some real compliance tasks to solve, legal, and internal personnel issues with handling employee disciplinary outcomes. I believe the five-points to consider stated in this slide, despite hesitation of employee relations manager, Steve Wilson of the fear of cost-cutting will bring in the union, will support managements effort to sustain operations and continue to provide an existing competitive market position while taking steps to expand into new markets. This is not to say unions are not part of PAC’s future, as they could have knowledge to help expand PAC to other accounts. Management needs to be very open to all possibilities, as relying on one customer to support the manufacturing of 83% of its business will require serious tangible steps to increase diversification locally, or globally. With a mandate to cut waste, a hiring freeze, and moving forward to solve the legal compliance cases that have been inherited, I do not see PAC moving forward until these cases are immediately solved. Therefore, if PAC Resources can solve its existing challenges, which includes overcoming downsizing, it needs to form cross-functional teams not only within employee manufacturing ranks more than it has, but in mid to upper-level management ranks also. Lastly, the current CEO David Dukakis who founded the company, has been recluse from business operations and at that, only a part-time CEO, needs to strongly consider returning full-time to once again to compliment the CFO’s actions and become the cheerleader to assemble a guiding coalition for change. Internal change-management goals of decreasing complacency, providing a roadmap, overcoming barriers for success and start to show some short-term wins, is the only way PAC Resources will sustain an economic fallout (Gusdor
- Capabilities for PAC Resources are very specific. What is it they do well? Manufacture quality components in a cost effective high-tech environment, with a highly competent engineers, to bring to their market segment customers most likely with a stated contract in place. Although PAC is at risk for losing talent, an overall assessment to know if PAC’s competitors are also going to downsize their workforce would be of value. This will also be reviewed in the SWOT assessment.
- The KSA’s of employees of PAC Resources are going to vary based on their position. The knowledge each must possess is the practical understanding of the theory, i.e., of engineering, or business to business marketing, or management. Expanded knowledge will include compliance and processes of the industry, budgets, software function, how equipment works. Employees will also have demonstrated skills to show mastery of their position. Judgment, ability to complete complex tasks; sensory, physical, agility and cognitive abilities, spatial, quantitative reasoning etc. can play a role in a manufacturing environment.
- Focusing your coalition on setting goals, implementation, and ROI of those goals with organizational strategy takes focus and effort. The legal issues over PAC Resources “like a black cloud” need to be resolved as the first step of achieving some short-term wins. Concurrent staff reductions will decrease employee morale, yet communicating these changes by a unified HR/Management strategy to increase, not decrease communication would be key to overcoming disgruntled employees running to union reps. PAC is destined to have many oars in the water at the same time. Therefore, HR needs to work with other managers to create a sense of urgency, be a leader and support buy-in of key initiatives proposed. Developing means to connect behaviors to organizational success through these short-term wins. Overcome barriers quickly, and share with employees key strategies, how they contribute to their success and empower employees to take risks in creating new opportunities or processes. HR can outline a framework for developing future leaders in a succession strategy designed to address “what if” scenarios and when they occur. Lastly, managing risk as an on-target of ROI initiatives, beyond training metrics is a good place to start.
- SWOT Analysis: Strengths: Experienced leadership in CEO/CFO/Staffing, and HRD staff. Total rewards Talented technical staff. Weaknesses: Departments working in silos and lacking communication. Line managers lack clear understanding of steps for disciplinary action. Seemingly no effort at all to increase business accounts, or lack of any revenue plan. Legal issues mounting can remove focus from leadership. These issues need to be resolved urgently. Facilitate teams in management, remove silos, behaviors of special treatment, and reestablish policies through the use of the intranet, lunch and learn meetings with staff/employees, and utilize outside consultants when time and speed are factors. Lack of succession planning. Credible activist. Any plan to create short to wins, or visible rewards for staff to embrace these victories. Labor relations credible source on staff. Any obvious HR metrics to quickly get information to management. An HR dashboard to quickly gauge business climate information. Opportunities: Increase business accounts. Create a plan to align goals and state in writing measurable outcomes. Use technology to create metrics, increase daily information flow quickly. Consolidate HR staff into a working team. Identify obstacles preventing any opportunity from occurring, including people, processes or outdated equipment. Survey internal employees, and external customers for feedback on specific strengths and weaknesses. Threats: Having limited external business accounts (1 that accounts for 83% of revenue is dangerous). Mounting legal issues that shift resources and distract human capital from performing duties. Economic downturn, given PAC’s one business account. Union seeking to get more involved at a time where the focus should be elsewhere. Overall employee morale, given staff reductions of 10%. (Gusdorf)
- PAC resources has existed since the mid-nineties and does many things well. Talent acquisition, Total Rewards, and efficiencies in the staffing office highlight the upswing in the technology sector. Based on the case study, it would seem PAC did not foresee this downturn coming, was ill-prepared, reactive to demand HR metrics in response to the downturn and simply did not have the tools in place to plug holes in a sinking ship. Some of the issues are out of control of human resources (mandated staffing cuts and tuition reimbursement as examples). It would be ill-timed to fight for a program that the majority doesn’t benefit from.