Reference no: EM133705028

Homework: Case- Managing Human Capital

Overview

From this Module's Background readings, we learn that the strongest companies view employees as assets rather than liabilities. They do this in many ways, such as through professional development opportunities, benefits offered, pay scale adjustments, and employee engagement initiatives.

Managers also show their employees that they are assets by the way the employees are treated. If managers do not treat their employees as valued employees, employee satisfaction might decrease and negatively impact the organization's success.

With that in mind, how does a company know it needs to adjust its culture to become a sustainable, compassionate employer in the 21st century? Smart management teams track metrics that indicate a company's overall health, including its level of employee satisfaction. Unless steps are taken to improve employee satisfaction, however, metrics will be wasted and the opportunity for gain will be lost.

So, what types of metrics are important in HR and what are they useful for? To answer this question, read the following articles regarding HR metrics:

Jessee, T. (n.d.). 48 HR KPIs & metric examples (and how to implement them). ClearPoint Strategy. Standard right to access materials on ClearPoint Strategy site for noncommercial purposes.

Seven habits. (2019). 7 habits that are stalling your employee engagement program and how to fix them. Glint. Standard right to access materials on Glint Inc. site for noncommercial purposes.

Case Homework

After reading the required background material, prepare an essay in which you identify five key performance metrics to measure employee satisfaction.

You should address the following questions about each of the five metrics you selected to measure employee engagement/satisfaction:

1) Discuss three reasons why employee engagement/satisfaction metrics might rise or fall.
2) What steps should a company take to improve employee engagement/satisfaction?

In addition to the Jessee (n.d.) and Seven Habits (2019) sources, utilize at least two additional Trident library sources to support your essay.

Your Case Homework should be 3 to 4 pages. The page count does not include the cover page or reference list page. The title at the top of Page 2 should be the title you give your submission, not "Introduction," although the first paragraph of a paper should always be an introduction. There is also a conclusion required at the end of this homework that is a synopsis of your findings uncovered during the process of completing this homework.

Module Background

A key ingredient to whether or not an organization views its employees as human capital to be nurtured and developed for greater productivity is the ability to analyze key metrics. There are organization-wide metrics that are often monitored on a routine basis. Some of the organization-wide metrics include, for example:

1) Net profit before taxes
2) Net profit on key product lines
3) Customer satisfaction (by customer group)

Company metrics are often viewed monthly or quarterly by the management of an organization with the use of balanced scorecards. Scorecards, for example, show unacceptable levels in red, while other metrics are green if they meet or exceed set goals.

Using employee satisfaction as an example, let's look at how it might be measured. Since scorecards are often viewed only on a periodic basis, there could be a problem with employee satisfaction that goes undetected for weeks or months, before a problem is recognized. However, there will likely be signs that employee satisfaction has been impacted one way or another. For example, there may be changes in employee morale, tardiness, absenteeism, and/or other metrics measured by the company. So, while measuring key performance indicators is a great idea, managers must watch them frequently. Otherwise, by the time they learn that changes are needed, damage might have already been done.

Specific to HRM, then, what types of metrics are important; what are their uses?

HR metrics are numbers key managers of an organization are interested in monitoring frequently to learn the pulse of an organization. In addition to the highest organizational leaders, however, other managers watch the figures, too, including the leaders in an organization's HR department. When a company seems to be turning over employees at a rapid rate, something is askew. When employees are consistently late to work or do not meet performance expectations, something needs more attention. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics that help reveal discrepancies that need further work.

Videos

Deloitte (n.d.). On the line: A video series on the worker-employer relationship: From the 2021 Deloitte Global Human Capital Special Report.

View the four potential futures identified by Deloitte in the link above for the worker-employer relationship:

1) Work as fashion
2) War between talent
3) Work is work
4) Purpose unleashed.