HRM310 Final Draft

Sofie Martinez

Wilmington University

HRM310

Professor Kathleen Ellis

November 27, 2021

Interview Process

For my chosen company, I decided on ChristianaCare. ChristianaCare spoke out to me while doing my research. I looked at the resources of HR professionals and decided I wanted to choose an organization in healthcare. I went on their website and did some snooping and decided I want to reach out to them. I had the delight of interviewing a young woman by the name of Stephanie VanPelt. Her current title is HR Benefits Analyst. She notified me that ChristianaCare is located in Delaware, all over actually. They have over 10 locations, for the patient’s convenience. We spoke for about an hour. For the first 30 mins, I spoke to her about the company itself and my interview questions. For the second half, she spoke to me about my professional choices. She asked what I wanted to do in HR and what I was good at. She reminds of me someone I want to be like one day. I told her my biggest concern with fear in the HR department was that I love people but I’m not the best at getting my thoughts out. I get flustered and nervous. Talk about introvert. It gave me a peace of mind when she told me she was just like me at my age. With passion, it’ll come. I also want to mention, I also interviewed her for my HRM class. Different topics, the same person. We were supposed to meet on Zoom video chat, but some difficulties arise and just spoke over the phone.

I had a fun time speaking with Mrs.VanPelt. It was clear early on into the interview that a problem in the workplace that needs to be brought up is bad communication and transparency. I went on to ask her where she believed this originated from and now can her department fix this organizational issue. Her answer was, “Covid-19 has really changed and shaped how we do this here, especially because we are dealing with patients and employees’ safety and outcome. I believe this change of transparency issue won’t mean reshaping our culture. With the right people involved and the right strategies, it won’t take long.” (VanPelt) I thought that was a great response tying in the pandemic. Going off of this, 3 barriers to the success of the company starts with transparencies, as mentioned above. She also mentioned turnover rates and working together as a team. Again, with the topic of Covid-19 and hospitals. People have been forced to quit their jobs now, after almost 2 years of their service. This has become an issue in differences of opinion, hence turnover rates being higher than record. On the topic of turnover rates, it’s challenging in the field of healthcare. Having a higher pay doesn’t necessarily mean lowered turnover rates. Especially nowadays where you’re being forced to inject a substance into your body or lose your job. That is what is causing the rates to stagger and become higher than ever. When it comes to patients, hospital staff should be trained properly. ChristianaCare is one of the top workplaces in the State of Delaware. ChrisitanaCare staff follows their core values very closely. They make sure they make the right hires for the type of work they do. Mrs.VanPelt has strong confidence in her employees. I went on to ask her about the trending market. She says ChristianaCare offers a competitive pay/benefits. She loves to advocate for equal pay, as do I. She thinks with the pandemic in place, it’s important to take care of the staff we can hire. Personally, I thought that was a little ironic. But I do understand in order to protect everyone’s safety, but why not offer another option such as weekly testing? If one with the vaccine can get it and spread it, what’s the difference. Some common problems arising from the customers and patients of ChristianaCare right now have to do with Covid-19. That’s why I keep coming back to it. It seems as if all of the system issues go back to this pandemic. Stephanie did agree with me on the fact that they should be given a practical choice, such as testing or vaccine. It’s tearing us apart more than bringing us together in this field. To tie it all up, my last question I asked was about performance. How is performance managed for the best efficiency? In order to be quick and efficient, the organization needs to come up with a good strategy. Setting goals is a start. Ensuring all training is being validated as well and benchmark assessments quarterly. That’s how ChristianaCare does it. In order to make sure they are living up to the company’s core values and mission statement, the upper management take these measures. Again, I had the most wonderful time speaking to Stephanie. Her insights on the workplace has shown me a lot, now it’s time to experience it for myself.

Needs Assessment and Diagnostics

Thorough organizational analysis requires comprehensive information to be successful. Stephanie briefed me of several challenges currently at the organization through an interview. One of the current challenges at ChristianaCare is a lack of transparencies. She reported that employees are not aware of some benefits existing at the workplace. Also, ChristianaCare has a poor communication mechanism that hinders two-way communication. Stephanie reported that the current Covid-19 pandemic has placed the organization in a nightmare. The management has to contemplate the best practices to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic such as testing and vaccinating the staff. Equally, the HR department needs to deal with unusual turnover rates at the company amid the pandemic. Stephanie acknowledged that the organization had witnessed unprecedented turnover rates during the Covid-19 pandemic putting it at crossroads on how to handle the situation. She also hinted that the HR department seeks qualified candidates for the job and pays each employee equally based on the set procedures.

However, the information is not enough to solve the challenge at the organization. One of the extra information required to solve the problem is the number of employees at ChristianaCare. Employee size will help in assessing human resource needs. The other prerequisite information is Christiana Care’s financial status. Financial information will be essential in determining resource availability to undertake the change process. Also, I will require information on leadership styles, core values, mission, and vision statement to solve the problem at the company (Buller, 1988). Also, a performance appraisal system could help in the change process I will collect data from the company’s websites and documents published recently. Further, I will organize focus groups and present questions to some employees at the organizations (Grieves, 2003). I will assess the information by consulting Stephanie, with who we have formed a professional relationship, to validate the information.

Proposed Organizational Development Intervention

The best OD intervention to deal with the current crisis at the organization is cultural change. Organizational culture refers to vision, mission, core values, goals, and HR practices at ChristianaCare. Hence, cultural change will involve unfreeze, move and freeze theoretical model by Lewin (Grieves, 2003). The framework is simple and powerful and begins with loosening up current structures that hold organizations backward and result in errors (Buller, 1988). Some structures that lag ChristianaCare behind include a lack of transparencies and poor communication methods between the management and the employees. Such configurations must be isolated to make the company successful. The cultural change model also evaluates the existing influences that have impacts on organizations (Fried & Myron, 2017). In changing the culture, ChristianaCare must address all internal and external issues that bolster or hinder its operations. The next stage in unfreeze, move, and refreeze model is moving to seek support from the employees and other company beneficiaries. The last step will involve developing and implementing new cultures at ChristianaCare.

The cultural change process will have technical and psychological aspects. Technically, the new culture should be client-centered (Grieves, 2003). ChristianaCare health organization should provide excellent and quality services to the patients visiting the facility. The other technical aspect to be incorporated in the new culture is innovation (Grieves, 2003). Innovation is the driving force for a successful organization. The interview with Stephanie showed that there were no innovative efforts to solve the existing challenges such as dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The employees at the company are involved in the cultural change process. The change process will comprise altering the mission, vision, and core values of the organization. The mission, vision, and core values at the company will reflect the new resolve to improve the employees’ and patients’ needs. Another methodical action in the change process is promulgating organization-wide change programs such as mission statements and TQM.

The psychological aspects will seek to alter employee mindset. In HR management, HR managers can isolate employee behaviors or influence attitudes and, the psychological models work in that manner. The new cultural change will enhance employee motivation and self-worth at the company. Secondly, the new culture aims at inspiring the employees who work at the organization to perform their duties diligently (Grieves, 2003). The other element inscribed in the change process is ideological underpinning. The change will serve the clients’, employees’ and company’s interests. The existing culture serves ChristianaCare’s business strategies and that is why the approach has failed currently. Stephanie reported that the turnover rates were high currently due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The high turnover rates could result from stress, anxiety, and depression. The intervention will cushion employees from stress-causing issues when at work.

The cultural change aims to enhance processes at the organization. However, scholars warn that cultural change can hurt the organization if done hastily (Fried & Myron, 2017). One of the issues raised by the scholars is that cultural change looks at the longer-term solutions and neglect short-term resolutions which are part of the problem (Grieves, 2003). The other concern is the overreliance on education and training as a means of change rather than focusing on behavioral change. Behavioral change may include communication which is a problem at ChristianaCare. The other mistake committed during cultural change is insensitivity to organizational history, mission, and vision. The change process will consider ChristianaCare’s historical background before altering the current culture. After identifying cultural change as the intervention, the next stage will be stakeholder participation where employees and clients will contribute their views on the change process. The other step will involve process identification of issues that need further consideration before the change.

Several theories will provide a basis for the change process. The first theory is unfreeze, change, and refreeze under Lewin’s change management model. The unfreeze stage encompasses preparation and may include identifying weaknesses and engaging the stakeholders (Grieves, 2003). In ChristianaCare’s context, unfreezing will entail identifying the source of the existing setbacks and breaking the structures that create them (Boonstra, 2013). The change stage comprises the implementation stage and, refreezing involves constant change evaluation to avert challenges. Thus, the intervention can be taken through the preparation, execution, and assessment processes. The other theoretical approach I could adopt in the change process is the McKinsey 7-S model that breaks down change into seven processes; change strategy, the structure of your company, business systems and processes, shared company values and culture, style or manner of the work, staff involved, and staff’s skills (Grieves, 2003). One of the expected outcomes of the cultural change process shall be reduced employee turnover at ChristianaCare. Other anticipated results are increased employee and client satisfaction, improved healthcare quality, and communication improvement at the organization.

Intervention assessment will be an essential component of the cultural change process especially for unfreeze, change and refreeze theoretical model. One appraisal approach is engaging ChristianaCare stakeholders. These stakeholders include human resource managers and employees. I will ask HR managers to state the new trends in attracting employees and retaining them after the change. Low employee turnover rates after change implementation will indicate change success. I will ask the employees their perceptions about ChristianaCare’s communication strategies. A positive response will imply that the new culture change program is successful. The data collection measure will involve retrieving ChristianaCare’s documents from its websites, conducting more interviews with staff working at the company, and sending employees questionnaires.

Summary and Conclusion

ChristianaCare Company faces several problems that may be a result of HR management or the entire organizational management. Some issues that emanated from a phone interview with Stephanie are poor communication, lack of transparency, high employee turnover during the Covid-19 pandemic, and lack of a proper method to implement Covid-19 protocols such as vaccination and testing. A deeper ChristianaCare diagnosis shows that the piling problems may be a result of the existing culture which is not adaptive to changing needs such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the best strategy to end the crises is cultural change. Organizational culture covers core values, ethical principles, mission and vision statements among other issues. The technical aspect of the change process will include activities such as changing the vision, creating new core values, and establishing new employment policies while the psychological features of the intervention will analyze behavioral, mental, and emotional change. Two theories provide the ground for the cultural change process: Lewin’s change management theory and McKinsey’s 7-S model. The expected outcomes are improved information sharing, reduced turnover rates, and proper emergency response techniques. I will evaluate the change through stakeholder engagement using interviews, questionnaires, retrieved primary documents, and benchmarking. The intervention’s success will be characterized by progress in communication, low turnovers, and sound emergency response techniques.

References

Boonstra, Jaap J.. Cultural Change and Leadership in Organizations : A Practical Guide to Successful Organizational Change, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wilmcoll-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1118503.

Buller, P. F. (1988). For Successful Strategic Change: Blend OD Practices With Strategic Management. Organizational Dynamics, 16(3), 42–55. https://doi-org.mylibrary.wilmu.edu/10.1016/0090-2616(88)90035-6

Fried, Bruce. Myron D. Fottler. Fundamentals of Human Resources in Healthcare, Second Edition, Health Administration Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wilmcoll-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5909624.

Grieves, James. Strategic Human Resource Development, SAGE Publications, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wilmcoll-ebooks/detail.action?docID=254641.

Interview Process

During my research, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs.Stephanie VanPelt. She is the HR Benefits Analysis at ChristianaCare in Delaware. She is in charge of handling employees’ benefits, along with working close to the accounting chair regarding compensation. She mentioned that working in this industry field is challenging because it’s never easy giving anyone bad news. Especially when it affects them financially. Also, closely monitoring benefit trends that other companies have helps hire and retain employees. I spoke to Stephanie via phone call on a Tuesday night. When I first read that I was going to have to interview someone, my introverted heart sank. It turns out the dread 45 mins I was thinking about went by so quickly. I ended up talking to her about the project and the project for only 30 minutes. She then went on to give me some quality tips about what I currently struggle with in the HR field. She asked me questions about what I’m most nervous about and she really eased a lot of my nerves. It was a very good chat. I wanted to choose a company that worked in healthcare. I am curious as to how hospitals are taking care of their employees during a pandemic time. I also have always been good at math and I love the thought of advocating for equal pay. I know I can make a difference working in the Human Resource Benefits/Compensation department.

My interview went very smoothly. Mrs.Stephanie VanPelt was a very sweet person to interview. Before beginning, I went over my interview questions and changed a couple of them to get more details about ChristianaCare’s HR department. The first question I asked her is if she loves her job. This wasn’t necessarily part of my interview, but she gave me a well thought out answer. “It is what you make it. Some days will be hard, but you have to see the brighter side. One day you’re going in having to tell 100+ employees that they no longer will be covered by a certain benefit, but then the next day you’ve saved someone’s life. HR is emotionally time consuming but well worth it” (VanPelt). To explain this a little more, she was telling me how a coworker was having negative suicidal thoughts because she needed to take time off of work due to a medical problem but could not afford to do so. All these thoughts were spiraling in her head when Stephanie called her into her office because of some rumors. It was then spilled about these thoughts. Stephanie was able to put her co-worker on short term disability, which she did not know she was entitled to. Now in my opinions that is awesome, but this is a true example of how transparency can prevent problems. If the HR benefits department would have notified her of these benefits when she started the job, she would be better than she was feeling at that time. Now to jump into the actual interview. The first (second) question was “How do you ensure that everyone is getting paid fairly?” Now, this one came out to be tricky because she said everyone’s definition of fair is always different. During interview process at her job, she lets the interview person know what their base rate of pay is. Now this is without bonuses or benefits. So, it’s actually a lot more. This part confused me because being transparent upfront is what would keep me. She says the strategy behind this is to pursue others to negotiate. I have never heard of this. Wouldn’t they want to save money? They are a company that seems to really take good care of their employees. Since we’re on the topic of good care, I also asked what benefits they offer other than the typical 401K, short term disability, etc. They offer full coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance to all employees – even part time. Along with that they offer a generous amount of PTO, getting higher the longer you stay with the company. More companies are starting to include parental leave on their benefits package, and that’s not different here. 12 weeks of paid time off if you or spouse have a child. Not only this but if you’re thinking about adopting, ChristianaCare will help with PTO for that as well. Now earlier I did mention transparency. That one of my questions. I asked if they had a way to contact employees regarding benefits change. She mentioned everything they do now is geared towards technology. So instead of having a meeting or a formal announcement, they will send a mass email. Sometimes emails get lost with everything else being sent so a lot of employees won’t see. While I understand it’s easier and more efficient to use technology in the workplace, it’s all about how and when you promote the usage. So, because work can get challenging, ChristianaCare also offers paid 1-hour lunch. This is optional but it is still offered. Now to go further into the Compensation part of Human Resources. Before this, I had no idea what exempt, non-exempt, etc. meant. I learned exempt are those being paid on a salary, non-exempt are hourly workers and contractors are just that. They’re all marked according in the payroll system. I was very curious as to what would happened if the technology just crashed and there was no way to access paperwork on the computers? Such as someone hacking. Stephanie has been with the company for a couple years and has not seen this happen. She does not have a protocol if that were to happen. I find that really dangerous considering employees financial assets are at risk here. As far as FMLA, Worker’s Comp, etc. all of that is filed on the computer as well. No more paper traces that could be used. Overall, I learned a lot from her and gained a whole new respect and perspective for those in this field of Human Resources.

Critical Analysis

Appropriate human resource management practices are crucial for organizational success. Human resource managers must have the proper recruitment and retention protocols to remain competitive in the current business stings. An interview with Mrs. Stephanie VanPelt amplified the relevance of human resource management. The interviewee also highlighted the challenges human resource managers encounter because it is hard to satisfy every employee in the organization. Therefore, the essential part of human resource managers is balancing employee needs with organizational goals and practices. Most studies show that human resource affects employee satisfaction, motivation, and performance at the workplace. (Cherif, 2020) notes that “human resource management practices have a role to play in building a viable mutual relationship between firms and their employees concerning shared trust and duties.” Moreover, human resource management determines organizational survival and competitiveness. The paper focuses on the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of ChristianaCare human resource management practices as presented in the interviews.

Strengths

Strengths refer to internal practices, processes, and activities that positively impact organizations. From the interview, one of the strengths is using family-responsive models to manage workers. The leaders offer PTO leaves to employees when they have personal issues. PTO denotes Paid-Time off involving employees’ continuous payment even when they leave work to attend to individual health challenges or family issues (Fried a, 2017). PTO may include vacation days in some organizations. Paid leaves are pivotal in promoting employee wellness. Several studies show that workers without paid leaves may be reluctant to leave work to attend to their health or personal issue (DeRigne et al., 2016). Organizations lacking PTO frameworks cause employee dissatisfaction and demotivation. Lack of PTO can potentially cause burn because laborers have no time to take rest. The PTO scheme at the organization is a strength because almost 70% of American companies are offering paid leave to their workers (DeRigne et al., 2016). Therefore, PTO makes ChristianaCare one of the right places for young talents. The organization also enrolls employees for short-term disability to allow them to attend medical care. The practices make ChristianaCare a suitable place to work for every job seeker.

Secondly, the human resource management department has adopted new technology in its operations. Technology has had profound effects on organizational management (Soundararajan & Kuldeep, 2016). Using technology can lead to automation of activities at companies which has a competitive advantage. The human resource managers communicate with employees using e-mails rather than meetings. One advantage of the approach is that it promotes convenience among the staff, and they can receive their message in their comfort areas. Technology adoption also bolsters administrative appeal among new recruiters who are millennials (Soundararajan & Kuldeep, 2016). Mrs. Stephanie confirmed that they make communications at ChristianaCare through e-mails. E-mailing is also a simple process and gives recipients enough time to peruse the message. Using technology at the organization also contributes to knowledge management approaches.

Additionally, the organization offers a range of employee benefits and compensation to its staff. Mrs. Stephanie confirmed that ChristianaCare offers full medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage to all employees – even part-time. There are other additional benefits offered to the employees, such as paid lunch. The benefits enhance employees’ motivation at work (Fried b, 2017). Research works show that better compensation and benefits scheme leads to employee satisfaction in organizations. Comparisons between public and private organizations indicate that employees in private organizations are more satisfied than in public sectors due to the numerous benefits. Therefore, Christians are have excelled in compensating their staff.

Weaknesses

Despite the strengths exhibited, some weaknesses need solutions. The first weakness is the lack of transparency in the organization. Mrs. Stephanie asserted that employees are unaware of certain privileges offered by the organization. The second weakness is the overreliance on technology which eliminates face-to-face meetings. Technology can be a blessing and challenge to the organization, and, ChristianaCare should balance traditional processes and technological approaches (Soundararajan & Kuldeep, 2016). The other weakness of the organization is a lack of data protection tactics. Increased cyber-insecurity instances risk data safety at the organization. Lastly, a lack of standardized employee benefits and compensation protocols can create inequalities in the organization. There is no evidence of appraisal systems at the organizations (Muller, 2009). The lack of evaluation at the organization hampers productivity and employee motivation.

Opportunities

The first opportunity involves communication. ChristianaCare has the opportunity to use both technology and conventional communication tactics. The second opportunity is developing data management approaches to prevent data breaches at the organization (Muller, 2009). It can also offer training to its employees to empower them to utilize technology. The other opportunity is embracing transparency in its human resource management practices.

Threats

The first threat to human resource management is cyber-attacks since all communications are done through e-mails but no appropriate mechanisms to protect information. Cyber-security threat confronts all organizations. The second threat is competition. Current organizations are using all the tools to attract the right talent in the markets. Thus, Christians could miss or lose the best talents to established organizations.

Recommendations to Improve the HRM at ChristianaCare.

The first suggestion is that ChristianaCare must develop data protection strategies and policies. Mrs. Stephanie reported that the HR managers share information with employees via e-mails. Ironically, she asserted that there are no policies or measures taken to safeguard the data. In an era of rampant cyber-attacks, many companies are focusing on data protection tactics. ChristianCare can start the process by hiring a Chief Information Officer (CIO) who can initiate data protection exercises. Also, employee training could be adopted in reinforcing data security since many data breaches occur through phishing and involve employees. Training will equip workers with the requisite skills to identify intruders to the organization’s system. The management can develop privacy policies to make staff accountable for any data breach that involves them.

The second recommendation is for ChristianaCare to integrate technology and conventional communication tools to disseminate information. Using e-mails limits the opportunity of meeting employees in person and exchanging information. The organization should use meetings when making critical communications. Meetings allow employees to share their views with the management and contribute to the final solution. On the other hand, e-mails do not create an equal platform for all employees to participate and make some human resources feel alienated from the rest.

Thirdly, the HR department should establish a performance appraisal system at the organization. Performance appraisal will assist in promotion and dismissal and enhancing quality care at the organization (Muller, 2009). Lastly, ChristianaCare should embrace transparency when managing human resources. Employees should be aware of their entitlements and rights after recruitment at the organization. Mrs. Stephanie reported that employees are not aware of some of the employee benefits existing in the company. Therefore, it is critical to inform the workers about their benefits. Transparency will aid the employees in making informed decisions when selecting their employers.

Summary and Conclusion

Human resource management is at the heart of organizational success. Best HRM approaches enhance organizational competitiveness and attract the best talents to an organization. An interview with Mrs. Stephanie highlights some strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats exhibited by ChristianaCare HRM. One of the strengths is employee benefits and competition. ChristianaCare offers a range offers lunch incentives, medical coverage, and high base rate salaries.

Moreover, the employees receive PTO when they have emergencies or family issues. The presence of technology also enhances information sharing at the company. HRM’s weaknesses at ChristianaCare are a lack of transparency and physical meetings. A lack of strategies to promote data protection also risks the company. Existing opportunities include developing data protection mechanisms, embracing physical meetings, and transparency in operations, while some threats are cyber-attacks and human resource competition. The organization should develop data security protocols, integrate technological and conventional communication tools, and promote transparency.

References

Fried, B. (2017). Compensation Practices, Planning, and Challenges. Fundamentals of human
resources in healthcare, second edition (Ser. Gateway to healthcare management). Health
Administration Press.
https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=5909624.

Fried, B. (2017). Employee Benefits. Fundamentals of human resources in healthcare, second
edition (Ser. Gateway to healthcare management). Health Administration Press.
https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=5909624.

Muller, Max. Manager’s Guide to HR : Hiring, Firing, Performance Evaluations, Documentation,
Benefits, and Everything Else You Need to Know, AMACOM, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wilmcoll-ebooks/detail.action

Soundararajan, R., & Kuldeep, S. (2016). Winning on hr analytics : leveraging data for
competitive advantage. SAGE. Publications, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wilmcoll-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4732623.