The investigation was conducted to determine the causes of employee and consumer turnover, decreased productivity levels, and client concerns at the Phoenix Advertising Agency's Roanoke, Virginia branch. The inquiry was necessary because Phoenix Advertising's performance is heavily reliant on the services provided to clients at the Roanoke branch. Employees in the organization's upper management have since left. As a result, the company's success and productivity have declined. Reduced efficiency results in less consumers being served and, as a result, a decrease in profitability. The investigation was also designed to identify why some graphic designers and copywriters feel they are excluded from the creative efforts at the branch and are considering quitting. If the issues are not addressed in time, the employees will resign and a lot of avoidable expenditures will be incurred in hiring and training new employees. Most workers are also complaining about the increased workloads that have resulted from the branch’s attempt to raise revenues by accepting new clients. Even though the move was a legitimate one, the due processes were not adequately followed to ensure completeness and have therefore led to degradation of the morale and productivity of the employees.
General approach to investigating the causes of each problem
Questionnaires
10 questions concerning satisfaction, motivation and compensation of employees
Surveys
Feedback from customers for services received will be gathered through email and text messaging surveys.
Suggestion Boxes
Employees will be able to anonymously give their honest opinions by writing and posting their opinions in the suggestion boxes.
Review of Documents
To ensure that the results of the causes identified are not just the feelings of the employees, it will be important to review documents like the attendance records, payment records and budget documents.
Observation
Observing how workers carry themselves in the offices, how they are treated and how they handle customers and clients can help in identifying some of the root causes of customer and employee dissatisfaction and demotivation.
Overall findings about the underlying issues
Poor communication between the management at Roanoke branch and the employees and clients.
Management make assumptions about responses of employees to their directives especially when they are required to work overtime.
Taking on more clients without asking employees if they would be willing to work for a few more hours to handle the requirements of additional customers.
Employees feel they are being forced to work overtime without any form of compensation and therefore they lack the motivation to continue delivering high quality work.
Some employees feel that their creativity is being dishonoured and therefore want to quit their cooperation with Phoenix Advertising.
Lack of teamwork
Managers make decisions without any consultation with the other employees
No efforts are being made to ensure that the employees work together.
Gaps in training
Employees not receiving adequate training
Employees have not gained proper interpersonal skills
Inadequate adherence to the policies and procedures of the branch as well as those of the company.
Overall recommendations for solving the issues
Invest more in enhancing communication
Establish a common email account for the company to make communication easy
Facilitate transparency in communication between the employees and the employers at Roanoke.
Discuss any future changes with employees to enable them to prepare adequately.
Develop a culture that fosters teamwork
Work together with all senior managers, departmental heads and all other employees towards a common goal
Encourage employees to consult each other and the management in all issues.
Offer employees training opportunities so that they can better their skills
Train employees on all the skills they need to complete their various tasks.
Interactively train employees on the various interpersonal skills so that they can learn how to communicate with each other, with clients and with their superiors.
Develop methods of enforcing compliance with the company and branch rules.
MEMORANDUM
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
RE: Report on Research into the Root Causes to the Problems Encountered at Roanoke, Virginia Branch of Phoenix Advertising Agency.
Purpose Statement
The Roanoke, Virginia branch of Phoenix Advertising Agency has been experiencing serious issues especially with regard to its employees. The challenges have been adversely affecting the success of Phoenix Advertising for some time now. It was therefore important to undertake an investigation into the matter to determine the root causes of the problems and propose some of the best ways of handling them. The branch has experienced substantive expression of client and employee dissatisfaction, lower levels of productivity and the exit of some senior managers. This is a matter that has seriously tainted the reputation of the company.
Since the services that are offered to clients at Roanoke branch are very fundamental to the success of Phoenix Advertising, it was important to urgently undertake the investigation. Due to the diminishing employee confidence, many clients have begun to express their dissatisfaction with the services they receive at the branch and are already threatening to stop being loyal to the company. If productivity is allowed to continue to reduce, fewer customers will have their needs met and ultimately, the company will become less competitive and therefore less profitable. There was need to try and examine why some graphic designers and copywriters feel that they are not being included in the creative efforts even though they are employed to use their creativity to run the branch of the company. The seriousness of the matter is evidenced by the fact that two top managers have already quit and the remaining ones have also threatened to leave because their ideas are either being disregarded or changed without consulting them. These challenges must be handled to avoid the huge expenditures that would have to take place if all the employees resign. New employees would have to be hired and trained to take their places.
Profitability can only be successfully increased if all employees are brought on board. However, the branch executives decided to take in more clients in a bid to increase the profitability of Phoenix Advertising without consulting any employees. The employees were then required to work overtime without being paid extra. Many of the employees are now complaining about the heavy workloads. They are also angry that the changes were not communicated to them in time so that they could make proper arrangements. Their morale and productivity have since declined.
Investigation Approach
Questionnaires
Questionnaires were developed and sent to employees to gather their views about why they feel dissatisfied, demotivated and whether they are being adequately compensated. Ten precise questions were prepared in the form of questionnaires and each employee was asked to give their honest views. The questionnaires also gave the employees a chance to propose some changes they feel would be appropriate.
Surveys
To help gather feedback from the clients concerning the services they had received from the company for the past six months, text and email surveys were prepared and administered to the customers who were being served at the branch. Since some clients had already expressed their dissatisfaction, it was necessary to reach out to the other customers and collect their views about what they love about the company, what they would like removed and what they would like to be changed. They were also given an opportunity to propose some proper solutions to the problems they have noticed in the company.
Suggestion Boxes
There are some employees who would not wish to be identified personally. If given an opportunity to honestly express their feelings anonymously, they can properly explain what they dislike about their jobs, the management and the payment. They can also propose some of the changes they think should be made to make their jobs enjoyable and to increase their productivity. The employees were therefore asked to write their feedbacks and then deposit the written feedbacks into the suggestion boxes.
Review of Documents
The words and feelings of the employees and customers alone cannot provide enough evidence that there is a problem at the branch. To verify what has been expressed by customers and employees, a review of the branch’s documents was also important. The attendance records, budget documents and payment books were reviewed to try and identify any suspicious trends in employee behaviour and the payment patterns.
Observation
By keenly observing the manner in which the employees complete their tasks, relate with one another and with their superiors, and how they handle the customers’ needs, it is possible to understand whether there is proper communication and teamwork at Roanoke or not. It can also help in identifying some of the root causes of the lack of motivation and satisfaction for employees as well as clients.
Overall Findings
Poor Communication
There is very poor communication between the managers at Roanoke and the employees and clients. As a result, employees feel that they are not being included in the decision making of the company and that their work is not appreciated. Some of them have therefore threatened to leave while others have left already. Some customers also feel that their needs are not being properly addressed according to their preferences because they are not given the opportunity to communicate their preferences to the decision makers. Some of the specific causes of the problem include:
The managers make assumptions about how the employees may respond to their directives. This was evident when the managers assumed that if they communicated about the taking in of more clients in advance, the employees would reject the move and therefore their plan would be unsuccessful. They therefore remained silent to the last minute and required the employees to work extra time without any payment. The result was that the employees now feel that they are being unfairly overworked and therefore their morale and productivity have reduced. With demoralized employees, the company cannot achieve profitable levels of production and service. The company can also loose many of its customers.
The managers also decided to accept more clients without consulting the employees and asking them whether they would be willing to work for a few more hours to take care of a few more customers and agreeing on the payment for overtime. The result is that employees feel that they are not valued and are being forced and misused. Most of them therefore feel they want to stop working for the company. With their expertise, they can be absorbed by the company’s competitors thereby causing competition to be too stiff.
Employees have lost their motivation and zeal in delivering high quality work. The result is that many customers feel that they are not getting the value for their money. There is therefore nothing to keep such customers from migrating to Phoenix Advertising’s competitors.
Some senior employees feel that their creativity is not honoured or even respected. It is for this reason that two managers have already quit. Their ideas and designs are being dropped or even changed without consulting them or even explaining to them why they have to be dropped. If they are not included in the creative projects of the company, many of the employees will feel they are not appreciated and therefore resign from the company and seek employment where they can be valued. This can strengthen the company’s competitors and reduce in the control of the market and its competitive advantage.
Lack of Teamwork
To successfully achieve the goals of an organization, all employees should cooperate and work together. However, at Roanoke branch of Phoenix Advertising, the managers and decision makers decide to effect changes that impact on all employees without even consulting them. There is a large gap between the employees and the executives. This leads to constant disagreements and rebelliousness, which in turn minimizes productivity.
A review of the budget books and attendance records revealed that there are no efforts that are being put in place to encourage employees to work together in accomplishing their duties. The result is discord and incompetence in the part of employees. Clients cannot get value for their money and cannot therefore continue to rely on the company to meet their needs.
Gaps in Training
When the budgeting books were reviewed, it was discovered that there are very few training activities budgeted for from time to time. Most of the training goes to the executives. This indicates that employees do not get adequate training and cannot therefore improve in their skills. They also cannot be motivated to seek to improve their competencies.
Observation revealed that the employees have not gained adequate interpersonal skills. This has been as a result of limited efforts to train them on the skills they require to ensure success. Without training, quality cannot be enhanced, and therefore the clients will continue to complain about the services they receive.
Disregard for Policies and Procedures
Through observation, it was also discovered that most employees, including some of the executives massively disregard the company and branch rules and procedures. Every organization has rules that help in keeping things orderly and in check. Procedures are designed to ensure the smooth running of operations. When these are disregarded, the outcome is a decline in productivity.
Recommendations for Solving the Issues
Invest more in enhancing communication
Enhancing communication among managers and between managers and other employees can be very fundamental in ensuring cohesion between them. The employees will feel motivated and will be even willing to work extra time with little or no payment because the change has been communicated adequately and in a timely manner.
It is important to enhance transparency in communication between the employees and their employers at the Roanoke branch. Once there is a channel in which the employers can be transparent with the employees, the team can be free with one another and discuss the strategies that can be adopted to drive the company to success. In case a design needs to be dropped or changed, the changes need to be discussed with the design managers and other key stakeholders so that an understanding can be reached. As such, the employees will feel that they are valued and their ideas are protected.
Any changes in the taskforce and work plans need to be communicated in advance to the employees to enable them make proper plans in prior. The lives of the employees do not revolve only around their jobs. They also have other important appointments after the job. These appointments need to be taken into account when making plans to increase the number of clients and the resulting working hours.
Develop a Culture that Fosters Teamwork
All senior employees need to cooperate in the management of the various departments of the branch at Roanoke. All department heads need to be brought on board during decision making. This will help in ensuring that there is unity and cooperation among leaders. Once the leaders show the other employees that they can work together, there will be a ripple effect in which employees from different sectors of the organization will work together towards achieving the common goal of making Phoenix Advertising a successful company.
All employees need to be encouraged to consult each other and also work with the management and departmental heads so that they can gather different insights into their various activities. Once all the employees at Roanoke branch are united as a team, they can all creatively come up with ways of satisfying the needs of clients.
Offer Employees Training Opportunities
Employees need to be given chances to attend colleges and universities to advance their skills and further their careers. This will paint the image that the company values their employees and motivates them to work towards attaining career development. The employees will in turn become more competent, productive and motivated so that the company will become more profitable and more customers will be satisfied.
Organize for trainings and retreats that are geared towards helping the employees to become more competent in their interpersonal skills. Through retreats, the employees and the management can become friendly with each other and learn to work together. The staff will also learn how to communicate with each other and with their superiors. The ultimate goal should be to help employees learn how to communicate effectively with customers and satisfy their needs.
Develop Methods of Enforcing Compliance with Rules and Procedures
All employees need to comply with the rules and procedures set out at the branch for the guidance of the operations. There is no person who should be exempted from following the regulations and abiding by the procedures. Mechanisms should therefore be put in place that can be useful in ensuring that the employees of Phoenix Advertising Agency, especially those at Roanoke branch strictly abide by the rules. Strong penalties should be put in place for any violators. The employees should also be constantly reminded of the importance of complying with the rules and procedures by use of posters, notices and billboards. This move will help in boosting the image of the company and redeeming it in the eyes of the clients.
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