Question

Human Resources

You have just graduated with your HAS degree and have been hired by Quality Home Care. The owner hasn’t given you a written job description or even a title but has told you what he wants you to do. “I started this company because I got tired of the bureaucracy at Mega Health System. We couldn’t get anything done. Even when it was obviously best for the patients and for the company, there was always some reason we couldn’t move ahead: not in the budget, the lawyers have some concerns, not consistent with our core strategies, and on and on. Well, I started my own company, hand-picked the best staff members, offered them a little higher pay than they were getting from Mega and some basic benefits. It worked. Our patient volume grew another 25% last quarter and we expect that to continue. We’re now up to 20 employees, and need more. I’ve had to hire some people I didn’t know before. I don’t have a management degree but I need to have all the administrative things done that they taught you how to do at Weber. The first thing I want you to do is organize all this Personnel stuff. Remember, I don’t want a @#$% mega-bureaucracy here, I just want things organized so we can keep up with this growth!”

A. What are the main factors you would consider in establishing an overall Human Resources strategy for QHC?

B. List the titles of the first five HR policies you would recommend to the owner and the main concepts that would be covered by each policy. Briefly explain to the owner why he needs a policy in each of these areas. Do not write the full policy statements. Remember, he doesn’t consider himself an administrator, he’s extremely busy, and he hates bureaucracy—this needs to be concise, clear, and persuasive.

Answer 1

a) The main factors which must be kept under consideration in establishing an overall HR strategy for QHC:

· The HR strategy must be in alignment with the vision, mission and strategic objectives of the company

· The HR strategy must have a clear perspective about the manpower attraction and retention plan of the company

· The HR strategy must be scalable so as to modified as per the expansion plans of the company

· The HR strategy needs to plan its expenditure in a way so as to keep it bound within the allotted budget by the company

b) The first 5 HR policies which QHC must come up with are as follows:

· Recruitment and Selection policy: This policy will guide the company to select and recruit new employees for the company. The recruitment and selection policy must be in alignment with the culture and values system of the company. The selection of employees must be based on culture and job fit.

· Compensation and Benefits policy: This policy will help in developing and defining the compensation structure of employees in different band levels. The compensation and benefits policy must be developed in a way so as to keep the employees motivated in the company.

· Performance Management policy: This policy will help in defining the framework and methodology using which the performance level of employees will get evaluated. The compensation and benefits as well as career progression of employees will be based on their performance level.

· Succession Planning policy: The succession planning policy will help in developing employees for leadership roles. This will help the company in maintaining an internal talent pool for facilitating business continuity.

· Employee engagement policy: The employees need to be kept motivated in the company. Employee engagement policy will evaluate the motivation and satisfaction level of employees and come up with interventions to keep them motivated and productive for the company.