Custom «Case Analysis - Phoenix Advertising Roanoke Branch» Essay Paper Sample

I am the Vice President of Human Resources Management at Phoenix. The company has been suffering the loss of employees and in the last two months, an art director and an accountant executive have left the branch and they secured a position with a competing agency. Apparently the two employees who left were among the top management people of the organization. After being offered the mandate to conduct research, the office has final prepared a proposal plan that illustrates the factors that influence quitting of employees, suggested methods of ending the prevailing predicament concerning loss of employees, and proposed a schedule plan for implementing the suggested actions with the intention of eradicating the problem existing at Phoenix Advertising Roanoke Branch. According to this proposal plan, it offers a long term solution to the current situation if implemented fully.

Background

Phoenix advertising is in critical condition and requires a strategic plan to undo the condition. After an art director and an accountant left, the company is experiencing shortage of man power which has resulted in forcing the top employees of the company to take double roles in their departments. The gaps left by the former employees who resigned have conceived work pressure in the company forcing other employees to work up to late hours. As a result of overtime stress, there is poor performance and pitiable delivery of services to the clients, which is depicted from the various dissatisfaction complaints received from the core clients of the company. Due to unbalanced workloads, other employees are threatening to resign and as a matter of fact, the entire organization is in a grotesque condition which requires a quick action.

Field investigation

During the research process, it was noted that Phoenix Advertising Roanoke Branch is understaffed; the employees are expected to work overtime with unfriendly compensations. There is need for quick replacement of the resigned staffs. The payroll to which the employees are currently enrolled to is extremely small and it’s gradually raising tension in the branch. Another aspect that captured our attention was the issue affiliated with unbalanced workloads. Other departments are overloaded with a project, which is a clear indication of poor and lopsided allocation of workloads. Unfortunately, employees are required to work more hours than what is mandated by the agency’s policies. Overtime pays are not yet given or are delayed. The key staff is not consulted pertaining to the final outcomes of the project which significantly lowers employee’s morale and output. These claims were supported with the review of the payroll reports indicating that the agency had not paid 60% of the overtime compensations to the staff. The list of the branch’s employees indicated that the employees who have resigned were not properly replaced; and the employee survey which was designed to gauge employee satisfaction indicated that 80% of the employees felt that they are overworked and underpaid

Causes of employees resigning from their positions

The organization is experiencing this problem because the agency tends to amass projects without considering the capacity of the employees and also the company’s policy. The idea of accumulating projects is a source of frustration to the employees due to their small number. It subsequently results to an employee being assigned a heap of projects to attend to. Seventy eight percent of employees are overworked and underpaid. The act of being piled with a lot of projects to attend to and receiving a poor pay, makes the employees develop a negative attitude about the organization with a belief of being mistreated, misused, mishandled, and taken advantage of. The end result of these emotions is submission of a letter of resignation. Another factor that contributes to the loss of employees is the stress due to overtime. Among the 300 employees that were present, 256 were stressed and frustrated of overtime. The stress attained due to the extension of working hours, not only weakens the employees but it also contributes greatly to poor output. Fifty percent of the employees are denied the right of unwinding their minds by late working hours.

Approximately, 200 employees of the creative team are being bypassed because their work is edited without their prior notice. Despite the fact that they are offering their level best in terms of service delivery, their efforts are dismissed and blame is casted upon them after their work is edited with a panel that does not involve them either directly or indirectly.

It was also noted that 80% of the employees leave the company due to poor employee morale. Poor morale results from lack of creative input, lack of participation in the final outcomes of projects, exposure to overwork, and finally late under compensation.

Solution plan to the problem

The current predicament of the company is alarming and it requires creative and critical thoughts in order to implement a long lasting solution. In order to formulate possible solutions to the current situation, a well structured schedule should be grounded. Strategic plan of how to immune the solution in the company should comprise of:

• Allocating equal workloads
• Decreasing the need for overtime
• Fair and on time compensations and benefits
• Inclusion of key employees in critical decisions regarding project outcomes
• Additional rewards for high quality outputs 

Proposal

According to the existing predicament in the organization, it’s mandatory for the authority to implement a plan that will ensure that the problem is eradicated. The authority in charge should enhance their progress in eradicating the problem by:

Allocating equal workloads

The agency should ensure that it does not amass projects which eventually results in overloading the staff members. The positions left by the employees who resigned should be filled carefully to avoid the key employees from taking double duties. A workload schedule need to be instituted that describes how many projects a department has to accomplish at the end of working hours. A new policy regarding the branch management should be implemented, in which any manager who is biased in allocation of work will be punished.

Offer training to and workshop seminars to managers regarding various methods and ideas of allocating equal workloads.

Decrease the need for overtime

The agency should relieve its employees from the stress of overtime. If it is impossible to completely eliminate the idea to do with overtime, then it should decrease it. Assign each employee with enough projects that can be attended to within the stipulated working duration regarding the company’s policy.

Fair and on time compensations and benefits

In case of any compensations and benefits, it’s the role of the agency to ensure that they are made on time. The compensation and benefits should be proportional to the cost of care. Introduce a policy that offers a fixed pay for each extra hour of overtime work. This will enhance fairness due to the fact that the compensation an employee receives is directly proportional to the number of extra working hours beyond the stipulated time in the agencies policy.

Inclusion of key employees in critical decisions regarding project outcomes

The agency should make an effort to ensure that the key employees participate in the critical decisions regarding project outcomes. Before editing any work of an employee, the key employees should be involved through the entire process. A panel consisting of the agency management and the key employees should be formed. The panel is required to have secession at least twice a week and among its key role is to formulate decisions regarding project outcomes.

Additional rewards for high quality outputs

Incentives should be introduced in order to boost the working performance of the employees, so as to obtain high quality outputs. Employees with absolute performance should be rewarded to increase their morale and stimulate them to work extra hard.

Any employee who provides ads and does not receive any complaint from the client for one week consecutively will receive 15% of the total cash received from those clients within that week.

At the end of each month, work performance is evaluated based on an employee time keeping, client handling, discipline, and quality of output. Employees with above 85% in this evaluation will be offered a full sponsored leisure tour to leading states.

Schedule

In order to obtain the main obligation of whipping out the current predicament in the agency, the agency should focus on a specific cause of the problem and implement a relevant solution plan that will neutralize the problem.

Staffing

The agency must consist of a graduate planning manager, experienced chief advisor, and a qualified accountant with prior knowledge and understanding on how to receive projects and distribute them equally to the employees without bias. It should also possess people with planning awareness in order to determine the amount of projects an employee can manage within the stipulated time in the policy.

It should contain an advisor and supervisor whom have the experience of coordinating the entire staff of employees and able to offer the required

Budget

If the proposal plan is implemented, the table below covers the entire cost to be spent. The cost is in American dollars.

Recommendation

In order to break the cycle and solve the problem of employees quitting their positions at the branch, several solutions should be applied.

Employees directly influence customer’s satisfaction and so it is necessary to address their needs. Taking on projects that does not overwhelm the employees to the point of burnout is necessary to break the cycle of the problem. Employees need time to rest and rejuvenate in order to deliver the best output possible. In addition, timely and adequate compensations is a must to increase their morale. Because they are the source of the output, their genuine involvement in the decision making process not only states that they are valued; it also increased their sense of responsibility and morale.  Additional rewards should also be given to them for any extra effort or excellent service they contribute.

I am hoping that the information, possible actions, and the schedule contained in this proposal plan be taken into consideration and that quick action is taken to solve the problem in the Roanoke branch to continue its operations.