B&D Co. was founded in 1995; it’s one of the biggest financial services companies in Egypt. Client satisfaction has always been a priority for the organization; and to achieve this goal, it has been realized that enhancing the internal process is a bedrock; therefore, increasing employee engagement has become a priority.

The organization is seeking to increase the employee’s engagement up to to 85% in the organization and motivate them to make them feel they are partners for the organization.

Currently there are about 2000 employees working in the organization who are divided to: entry, mid level and managerial level. 

There are different HR policies and tools used including:

Recruitment: External recruitment methods are used in the organization through employment fairs, social media and headhunting for critical positions. Also, internal recruitment based on referrals is also used.

On Boarding Briefing: When employees are hired, on boarding briefing meeting is held to welcome the newly hired employees, orient them with the processes, policies, work benefits and procedures. The meeting is held by the top management before they start their work and after they submit the required documents to the personnel.

Performance Management: Performance appraisals are done for the employees to determine where they stand and how they meet the organization's’ objectives and goals.

Training and Development: Based on the training needs assessments done by the employees and feedbacks obtained by different means e.g: coaching, peers and supervisors; training plans are provided to the employees to help them enhance their performance.

The employees care for satisfying the needs of the clients and presenting the best quality for them and also they care to create a friendly environment for work. Weaknesses that may appear in areas through the organization would be the lack of engagement in which; employees show low rate of engagement in activities related to the organization and there seems to be a communication problem. Employees aren’t motivated therefore; in some areas of the organization some of the staff would show resistance to change in addition to the low desire for development. As a response for that; the Human Resources department used tools for analysis:

- 360 Degree Feedback (By supervisor, peers, subordinates and clients)

- Performance Management data ( From appraisals)

- TNA (To determine the skills needed by the employees)

The organization is seeking to be better, however; there are challenges that it’s facing

including: the high turnover rate which results due to the feeling of lack of motivation and engagement of employees in addition to the rewarding system that needs to be modified. Also, the desired work efficiency and effectiveness may not be achieved because of the unclear flow of information and lack of communication. Moreover, some employees may be using outdated methods for work in a time where there are many other competitors in the market and the competitive advantage would be using updated ways which will definitely affect clients’ satisfaction.

How do you perceive the Human Resources role in the organization?

The HR might be using right strategies especially for learning and development. However, their policies regarding enhancing communication are weak and therefore the employees feedback and information transfer are usually not clear. Also, as a result of the lack of communication, employees aren’t engaged in organization’s goals and practices and therefore there’s a lack of motivation and desire for development. It seems that routine day to day administrative tasks are taking big part of the HR role more than focusing on having the employee’s voice heard and maximizing employee engagement.

What strategies do you recommend to be used?

Communication should be enhanced by staff surveys which should be effective to give employees the space to provide their feedbacks and determine the factors that may help to retain them. Moreover team briefings, regular meetings and corporate road shows can be useful to make the employees feel more involved in the organization.

Rewarding is another key issue that will help retain the employees. Employees need to be motivated by both recognition and affiliation rewards (e.g. employee of the month) in addition to career growth opportunities that are based on employee’s performance. The HR will have to provide a way that gives clear flow of information by using intranet to make it easier for employees to communicate their ideas and transfer information for each other directly.

Employees’ potentials should be enhanced to be reflected on their performance, therefore; effective trainings that are related to their needs should be focused on. Also, the results of the trainings and development should be linked to their appraisals.

Based on the previously recommended strategies, please suggest an action plan and the Human Resources mission for that.

The mission of HR will be “To create a working environment that will lead to employees’ retention, satisfaction, engagement, communication and development which will eventually impact on work effectiveness and efficiency and thus achieving the organization’s strategic goals.”

OD has a vital role in enhancing the communication with the employees through the means previously mentioned; which will help in making them feel more engaged in the organization, provide better feedback from them and therefore tackle any concerns they have and reduce the turnover rate.

OD and performance management will be used to determine the employee’s performance level and apply the rewarding system that suits employee’s needs and the company’s policy.

Learning and development if related to the performance management will motivate employees to develop their skills and hence; this will definitely have a positive impact on the client's’ satisfaction.

Intranet will be established by the IT team working in the organization to facilitate internal communication between the departments and individuals. Also, staff surveys will be provided by OD department and will be sent to employees’ emails to be done online and analysis will be done for the results. Moreover team briefings and corporate road shows can be useful to make the employees feel more involved in the organization.

Moreover, tutor-led interventions by training courses and development programs will be provided to the staff by specialized training centers which offer relative trainings. This can require a budget and making agreements with training centers. Moreover, the effect of the training on employee’s performance should be reflected in their performance management data.

Rewarding and recognition ways e.g. employee of the month will require a co-ordination between the OD and teams’ supervisors in addition to a budget that can be decided by the top management.

By enhancing the communication, making the employees feel that their voices are valued and that their performance is rewarded, employees will feel more engaged in the organization so, they’ll be motivated. When employees feel they are engaged in the organization, this will definitely reduce the turnover rate and therefore, the cost used for resourcing will be less.

When employees start to improve their skills by training and development, and when they start to understand that improving their performance is rewarded, this will have a positive impact on their productivity and therefore, the clients’ satisfaction.

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