This case study of Reyes Fitness Centers examines human resources (HR). Reyes Fitness Centers (RFC), Inc. is a small business that prioritizes its clients' health and fitness. According to reports, the business is having trouble keeping customers. To address the issue, there is a strategy to examine and realign the current HR strategic planning. Lori Patrick, RFC's newly appointed HR Director, is eager to address the problems the business is now facing. HR is crucial to an organization since it focuses on a variety of areas that make a firm work efficiently. Mayhew (2016) asserts that human resources (HR) play a dynamic function in a corporation. It emphasizes mostly on: employee training and development, safety, compliance, compensation and benefits, recruiting new talents, and employee relations. The other challenges facing RFC are poor customer service, lack of engagement with employees, lower retention rate than the industry average, and lack of awareness about organizational goals by employees. After Lori’s appointment as the director of HR at RFC, a new opportunity to tackle the challenges facing the firm has emerged. She has the chance to use the HR department to address the problems affecting the organization. This paper reviews the HR function of Reyes Fitness Center, and presents a recommended action plan to solve the challenges. The paper outlines major tasks, persons, and departments accountable for implementing the recommended actions. Also given in the paper are the timelines according to which these actions are supposed to be completed. Other areas addressed in the paper include the metrics for evaluating the results of the transformation, the risks that the RFC may be exposed to if it does not implement the recommended changes, and a description of the significance of both the strategic and administrative role of human resources needed for the transformation.
Recap from Previous Assignments
Assignment one was an introduction to the case study of Reyes Fitness Centers (RFC), Inc. In this presentation, there was a mention of the problems facing RFC, and the new HR Director Lori Patrick’s keenness on addressing them by the use of reforms in the company’s HR department. Lori’s recognition of the very critical place of the HR department in an organization was important since the employees of an organization contribute to a great extent to its performance, making the HR department and an important function in today’s organizations (Ferris, et al., 2007). This makes the alignment of HR goals to organizational goals very crucial to performance. The presentation in the first assignment also recognized the various capabilities that RFC has as an organization including the leadership abilities to implement new HR strategies, the financial strength to support HR plans, a capable sales and marketing department that can attract enough new customers to the business, and the required support from the finance department and top management for the new HR strategies as proposed by Lori. It is recognized in the presentation that RFC’s employees have a big role to play in the attempt to turn RFC’s operations around. Some of the competencies they will require for this plan to be successful are people skills and the ability to ensure customer satisfaction, engagement with members in a meaningful way to boost retention rate, an understanding of the goals of the organization and their roles towards making them possible, effective communication, and the ability to influence others. Assignment one also gave the findings of a SWOT analysis conducted on RFC, and concluded that through the initiatives spearheaded by Lori, it will be possible to address the challenges that the company is currently faced with.
Assignment two outlined the strategic opportunity that the HR department of RFC has that is needed for the transformation. In the presentation for this assignment are valid recommendations through which the current HR domain of RFC can be changed, an assessment of the merits of these recommendations, and their justification. It is recommended in this assignment that the HR strategic plan and objectives be redesigned, inter and intradepartmental communication systems in the company improved, new policies and employee goals or expectations implemented, new training and development programs for the employees be reinforced, employee competence and knowledge management and development programs for the employees evaluated, reward and compensation programs and systems established, new services for the customers innovated and created, and new members and signups be rewarded. The understanding is that an implementation of these recommendations will revamp the entire organization by motivating employees who will in turn improve their service to customers, resulting in their retention. The overall result will be a vibrant workforce and a successful company in terms of structures and profitability.
Summary of Recommended Action Plan
The recommended action plan of major tasks, persons or departments accountable, and time to complete them are as follows:
Action
Person/Department Accountable
Time to Complete
Redesigning HR strategic plans and objectives
HR Director
One week
Improving inter and intradepartmental communication system
Middle Managers and Supervisors
Three weeks
Implementing new policies and employee goals or expectations
Departmental Managers
One week
Reinforcing new training and development programs for the employees
HR Director
One month
Performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge
HR Director
Monthly
Establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems
HR Director
One week
Innovation and creation of new services for the customers
Research and Development Department
Customer Service Department
Three months
Rewarding new members and signups
Customer Service Department
Continuous
Metrics for Evaluating the Results of the Transformation
Each recommendation will have different metrics for evaluating the results of the transformation as follows:
Recommended Action
Metrics for Evaluation
Redesigning HR strategic plans and objectives
Employee satisfaction
Employee turnover
Quality of hire
Improving inter and intradepartmental communication system
Employee satisfaction
Streamlined business processes
Implementing new policies and employee goals or expectations
Employee satisfaction
Reinforcing new training and development programs for the employees
Employee satisfaction
Learning Curve
Performance rating by managers
Performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge
Employee evaluation rating compared to salary
Customer satisfaction with service
Productivity rate per employee
Establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems
Employee satisfaction
Employee turnover
Profit per dollar of wages
Innovation and creation of new services for the customers
Customer satisfaction
Customer retention
Sales revenue
Revenue per employee
Rewarding new members and signups
Customer retention
Sales Revenue
Risks of not implementing the Changes
If RFC does not implement the recommended changes, there are various risks it will face as follows:
Decreased productivity. Changes such as implementation of new policies and employee goals or expectations, as well reinforcing new training and development programs for the employees are geared towards improved productivity per employee as well as for the entire workforce. Failure to implement these changes will have a negative effect on the productivity at RFC. Employees who are unproductive will be unenthusiastic about their jobs and will not be fully engaged (Boswell, 2006). The HR department should therefore strive hard to ensure the employees’ training is reinforced as well as that of the managers in order to meet the degree of productivity required for sustenance of the organization. Decreased productivity will also be brought about by lack of motivation among employees because critical factors like implementation of new policies and employee goals and expectations are not sufficiently considered by their employer. Thomas et al. (2009) observe that failure to implement these changes will inadvertently reflect an attitude of indifference in the HR Director and other top managers which then filters across employee hierarchies and organizational levels. Indifference among employees is the worst thing to happen to an organization because then they will begin to distort the organizational culture, disrespect the work ethic, start workplace conflicts; and the organization may quickly descend into chaos (Steves et al. 2006). Being a fitness and wellness company, the mental wellbeing of its employees should be a top priority of RFC as this is a factor that directly reflects on the company’s clientele.
Higher employee turnover. An employee who is continually unenthusiastic and unmotivated about their job will definitely start looking for other opportunities outside the company. This is what the HR department of RFC will be trying to avoid through such changes as implementing new policies and employee goals, and establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems. Failure to implement these changes may send a message to the employees that the HR department and, by extension, the whole organization does not care about their personal and professional wellbeing, as well as their satisfaction on the job. These employees may then leave the organization without even giving the HR department reasons for their departure. This will mean that the organization continues to face the challenges of lack of engagement with employees and lower retention rate than the industry average that it is trying to eliminate.
Non-compliance. Some of the recommended changes in this paper will help RFC to continue in compliance with human resource regulatory and legal requirements as is required of every company in this jurisdiction. Such changes like performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge, and establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems are required by law under various labor and employment statutes and regulations. Failure to implement these changes, therefore, will imply failure of the company to abide by the law; which could lead to court battles and other litigation issues. Apart from such suits affecting the company’s good image and reputation, they have financial repercussions that may severely impact the already challenged company.
Impact on bottom line- Failure by RFC to implement these changes will affect all the bottom line operations in the company. As the productivity of employees is lowered, the performance of the business as a whole is severely impacted (Silberman et al. 2013). The most hit function of the company will be the customer service especially since RFC is entirely a service company. Once the customer service in the company deteriorates, the company will immediately begin to lose customers, plunging it in a dire financial conundrum. This is not desirable for the company especially since it already is in a financial distress. In addition to this, some of the recommended changes such as innovation and creation of new services, and rewarding new members and signups directly affect the happiness of the customers. Failure to implement the changes will affect their loyalty to the company and retention of revenues that come from the provision of service to them. As the employee turnover at RFC increases, there are associated costs such as those of hiring new talent and loss of the goodwill that goes alongside the leaving employee. Such increasing costs are detrimental to the profitability of the company.
Significance of the Strategic and Administrative Role of Human Resource Needed for the Change
It is evident that the Human Resource is at the center of the changes required at RFC. HR is required in at least eight of the ten changes recommended for the company. HR is expected to take part in the redesign of HR strategic plans and objectives, improvement of inter and intradepartmental communications system, implementation of new policies and employee goals and expectations, reinforcement of new training and development programs for employees, performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge, and establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems. The HR department needs to involve people at all levels in the organization in the process of implementing these changes. For instance, all employees will diagnose the communication problems they encounter at their respective levels in the organization in order for the department to, in turn, improve inter and intradepartmental communications system. Most of the timelines attached to the individual actions needed to be taken at RFC are more or less flexible. The HR department is in a position to synchronize the schedules around these changes so that they occur seamlessly. For instance, the establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems for employees which is expected to run for about a week may be scheduled to occur immediately after the performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge that is to be done monthly. Such well though-out scheduling will ensure that the establishment of rewards and compensation programs is done objectively, and with the various employees’ competence and knowledge in mind. Most of the changes recommended at RFC will require funding by the organization. With this in mind, the changes may be allocated to begin taking place at the beginning of a financial year so that proper budget allocations are made in this respect. Some changes like establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems for employees, and training are expected to require more funds than others like implementation of new policies and employee goals. Lastly, the HR department will require the support of top executives to implement these changes. For instance, the finance managers may need to approve some of the funding that is expected to go towards implementation of the changes. Luckily for RFC, it is better placed in terms of leadership and financial strengths to address the challenges it is facing at the moment. In addition to this, the top management has already agreed to offer Lori the support she needs as long as the returns are positive.
Summary and Conclusion
In conclusion, the HR department of RFC led by the director Lori Patrick is able to lead the organization into solving the challenges it is facing currently. Some of these challenges are poor retention of customers, poor customer service, lack of engagement with employees, lower retention rate than the industry average, and lack of awareness about organizational goals by employees. It is recognized that RFC’s employees have a big role to play in the attempt to turn the company’s operations around. Some of the competencies they will require for this plan to be successful are people skills and the ability to ensure customer satisfaction, engagement with members in a meaningful way to boost retention rate, an understanding of the goals of the organization and their roles towards making them possible, effective communication, and the ability to influence others. The changes recommended in order to turn RFC around are redesign of HR strategic plans and objectives, improvement of inter and intradepartmental communication system, implementation of new policies and employee goals or expectations, reinforcement of new training and development programs for the employees, performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge, establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems, innovation and creation of new services for the customers, and rewarding new members and signups. There are specific people and department in the company tasked with implementation of these changes, and within specific timelines. There are change-specific metrics that may be used to evaluate the results of the transformation. If the company does not implement these changes, it will be faced by various risks like decreased productivity, increased employee turnover, non-compliance lawsuits, and negative impact on bottom line operations. The HR department will require a considerable amount of funds and support from the top executives at RFC in the implementation of these changes.
References
Boswell, W. (2006). Aligning Employees with the Organization's Strategic Objectives: Out of ‘Line of Sight’, out of Mind. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(9), 1489-1511.
Ferris, G. R., Perrewé, P. L., Ranft, A. L., Zinko, R., Stoner, J. S., Brouer, R. L., et al. (2007). Human Resources Reputation and Effectiveness. Human Resource Management Review, 17(2), 117-130.
Gilmore, S., & Williams, S. (2012). Human Resource Management. London, UK: OUP Oxford
Mayhew, R. (2016). Six Main Functions of a Human Resource Department. Retrieved from http://Smallbusiness.Chron.Com/Six-Main-Functions-Human-Resource-Department-60693.html
Silberman, J. (2013). Three Ways HR Managers Can Improve Employee Engagement. Retrieved from http://www.Humanresourcesiq.Com/Hr-Talent-Management/Articles/Three-Ways-Hr-Managers-Can-Improve-Employee-Engagement .
Steves, J., Jeynes, V., Cotena, E., & Edelson, M. (2006). Managing Risk: The HR Contribution. London, UK: Routledge.
Thomas, G. F., Zolin, R., & Hartman, J. L. (2009). The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and its Effect on Employee Involvement. The Journal of Business Communication, 46(3), 287-310.
Appendix
Timeline/Action Plan
Activities
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Redesigning HR strategic plans and objectives
Improving inter and intradepartmental communication system
Implementing new policies and employee goals or expectations
Reinforcing new training and development programs for the employees
Performance evaluation of employee competence and knowledge
Establishment of rewards and compensation programs and systems
Innovation and creation of new services for the customers
Rewarding new members and signups
Revised Organization Chart
SWOT Assessment Chart
