Strategic human resources management cas

Tarmac Strategic Human Resources Management: A Case Study Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Introduction When one hears the name Tarmac, most probably the first thought that pops into mind would be a construction scene with concrete, bulldozers, cement, heavy machinery and of course, people in orange vests wearing yellow hardhats These people could be considered as the faces of Tarmac, however they are in fact only part of an even bigger and deeper organization That being said, all the human resources within Tarmac are managed to work together on one mission to achieve one goal, which is – “To deliver the highest value for our customers, communities, employees, and investors” This paper is a case study on Lafarge Tarmac – a well-known business of building materials and aggregates which originated in the UK – employing nearly 11,000 people for various skilled positions Through studying the company, this paper will be able to identify the differences between traditional HRM and SHRM, the functions and different models, and the benefits of various strategies that could be applied to the company Besides that, the factors that could affect its functions in the business environment will be evaluated as well as the integration ways the company uses to achieve goals Last but not least, the roles of the HR team in leading and implementing organisational change will be identified and studied All in all, this case study will ensure the clear understanding of different elements in SHRM through the lens of Tarmac, which would definitely aid aspiring businessmen in leading its own human resources Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Section 1: SHRM Question 1: A Three differences between Traditional Human Resource Management and Strategic Human Resource Management: One difference between the two is how the employees are treated For HRM, the employees are merely the workforce needed to get the job done in return for financial payment However, for SHRM it’s more than that – employees get the job done in return for not only financial payment, but also with their own personal growth and satisfaction in mind SHRM treats their employees as people, not just robots who would everything they are told to Another difference is regarding the time horizon of their functions – HRM is only short term and on the other hand SHRM can be short, medium, and most especially long term Also, in terms of their aim and key investment, HRM does what it does for the sake of saving as much money as it can while utilizing its workforce for the company For SHRM, it does that as well but it does that while taking care of the workforce It gives importance to investing on the people’s skills, knowledge, and personalities to achieve and maintain competitive advantage In relation to that, apparently Tarmac utilizes SHRM in way that it treats its people as the most important resource who need to be engaged, interested, developed, and motivated They recruit specialist employees for specific roles through strategic recruitment procedures involving the whole business in mind, and thus they have to make sure that the people possess the right skills and knowledge to meet the objectives B Four roles of SHRM Strategic Partner – As a company which produces aggregate across UK and various wholesale & private customers in different countries, there is a need for Tarmac to operate on a proper organisational structure The HRM is thus responsible for this in order to formulate the correct structure, to monitor and ensure it is implemented properly, to find ways to improve and change it again if needed, and also to always act as partners with the other operation managers – not just people who find people for the company – but as real partners Administrative Expert – It is common to think that HR people are mainly administrators concerned with the workforce in the company, however, HR experts are actually experts as administrators itself – they can perform their functions in various effective ways to be better, faster, for cheaper and less time and even be Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 able to participate in the company more as strategic partners In Tarmac for instance, it has a detailed process for recruitment in order to gather the right people for the right positions To efficiently so, they can rely on technologies that could filter automatically the CVs and cover letters, and other documents they receive from applicants, to save time on shortlisting for interviews This would be beneficial as it would speed up the intricate process of choosing numerous diverse skilled people from a range of a backgrounds Employee Champion – To the employees, the bosses are people who they follow as leaders, while the HR department are people they expect they can rely on For Tarmac, which focuses on the importance of engaging their employees for them to remain committed, there is a need for the HR to function as their champions who help and protect them They help Tarmac employees be motivated by giving orientations and training to the line management regarding how and why employees must have high morale They also help by being their voice within the management for their concerns and opinions, and with their voice they participate in the decisionmaking as well – this serves as providing them with excellent communication systems Lastly, Tarmac ensures the employees morale by recognizing their performance and reward them accordingly for their efforts and achievements Change Agent – Nothing is permanent in businesses, especially when it concerns people As ones who have the responsibility over the workforce in the company, HR people are the ones who must aid the organisation to adapt quickly to any changes They are the ones to often initiate, if not facilitate organisational changes such as in technology and the structure aside from the people Tarmac faces the situation in the market place wherein it needs to respond quickly to future challenges, which is why their human resources look out for internal change where individuals leave to take other posts, individuals retire, some are promoted, there are new technologies that have to be taught and trained, and even the economic climate that may result in more or less demand for the products C Two major HR strategies of Tarmac Tarmac immensely benefits from developing its own diverse workforce, and with that, it has become a purpose for the company to handle them with the following two major strategies: Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Diversity – according to the case study, Tarmac sees diversity as all the complex ways in which people are different, from gender, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs and etc This enables Tarmac to provide its customers with something special and beyond their normal expectations – this is because Tarmac shows value to each of their distinctive qualities, thus guaranteeing their “feel good factor” Aside from that, it promotes family-friendly working patterns for both genders, as well as bullying will be less if not none at all, and the same goes for harassment Illustration 1: Source - http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZxYtetSpc/VG5DVZWswNI/AAAAAAAADGo/PgN2v_J7Goc/s1600/diver sity.png Inclusion – this on the other hand is the act of embracing all the differences, it is valuing it all and even enabling every member to exploit their strengths For example, as a company mainly focused on construction, it has been a stereotype that the workforce is composed of males, but although at present 86% are males, Tarmac has sought to change that and women are being employed even more for different roles and levels – thus it has aimed for the working culture of valuing each other’s differences to utilize and develop each one’s potentials That being said, there are two main points as to how and where these strategies fit in Tarmac’s organisational value chain First is that Diversity and Inclusion serves as the strategy to achieve the company’s competitive advantage – which means it is basically the company’s work culture, it is the way every department in the company works Marketing and Sales for example which is focused mainly on generating revenue and customers must always focus on diversity and inclusion not only amongst themselves, but on the customers as well Second is that the strategies are mainly from the Human Resources Management since the workforce is the lifeblood of the company – it is the main source of the strategies It is where the management focuses on instilling the values upon each employee, monitoring their performance based on the alignment with the strategies as well as evaluating them Therefore diversity and inclusion are both strategies that fit in both primary and support activities as a whole Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Section 2: SHRM Models Question 2: Two Best SHRM models for Tarmac: Business Partner Model – Tarmac’s core goals (DREAM) are a set of aims that cannot be achieved so easily without the cooperation of all departments and teams Thus, HRM should not just be the traditional human resources who paperwork, they must undertake four roles in one as discussed by David Ulrich, and also explained beforehand Through these four roles, HRM will participate in decision making along with other leaders, aligning the HR initiatives with all the core strategies within the business, (Schwarts, 2011) With that, DREAM will be achieved more efficiently The second reason is that Tarmac is driven and focused to embrace change, and this model is perfect for that since through the model, HR professionals will focus on supporting and often leading changes within the organisation through being change agents Advantages – Through the model, Tarmac HR will have storing relationships with the executive management, with their leading role in the company being highly visible Another is that HR will not be the last to hear any news regarding the company, HR will be part of that – thus there is fast response time in case there are big corporate problems Disadvantages – However, in being more focused with the strategic business partnering, the equally important role of HR to interact personally with customers will be less emphasized Also, there will be less emphasis on the rewards system for employees who are doing great E-HR Model – With over 6,000 employees, it would be a good option for Tarmac to peruse this model because it will simplify all paperwork that are often so timeconsuming and would require more manpower This would align Tarmac to the background of being innovative and modern, wherein all HRM services required from Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 the department will be offered via intranet for all employees’ use, (Rüel, Bondarouk, & Looise, 2004) Also, with that, the HR will be able to focus more on its core activities including decision making, employee relations, and etc Advantages – Through this model, all employees including the management will have their own “personal portal” that could definitely improve productivity due to the tailored information provided by the technology Also, the web technology is then fool proof – meaning there will be less errors committed as compared to the normal call centre model Disadvantages – Though it is quite advantageous, it cannot be denied that the downside to it is that the HR managers’ time will be more difficult to spare due to the fact that they will be focused on more important things and the technology will already basically provide for everything else anyway With that comes the problem wherein certain HR issues that need human cognition will be difficult to solve, especially if the E-HR is being heavily relied on Another disadvantage is that these technologies could need time and set-up costs, plus even when it has been completed, results may not even be what was expected Therefore, it also has risks Section 3: Designing and Implementing HR Strategy Question 3: A Tarmac organisational life cycle stage – Currently, it would be easy to identify that Lafarge Tarmac is on its Maturity stage With a revenue that has reached more than a billion and continuously increasing, Lafarge UK and Tarmac both have weighted presence in the construction industry made even more significant through their merger, (Hanna, 2014) They have stable organisation culture and have already incorporated retention strategies for the employees, as well as continuously provides training with regards to the HR & employee relations Stuart Wykes, the Director of Land and Natural Resources who is a leader in the company stated, “Our approach to operational excellence and our innovative, high quality products will help us maintain our leading position and create the sustainable communities of the future,” (Hanna, 2014) This statement shows that they are indeed in the leading position, and thus seek to maintain that maturity Knowing one’s stage in the organisational life cycle is very important because it would provide the company with the knowledge on the situation and position it Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 currently is in in the market Whether it is still developing and growing, or if it is already reaching its highest peak, or if it is already failing and unless major changes will be done the company will bankrupt Just knowing the current stage would make the decision-makers be continuously alert and stay on their toes The second reason it is beneficial is that with this alertness, they will be able to find out whatever they need to and whatever would affect these decisions they are about to impose Therefore, it becomes a thorough research about the company both internally as well as externally B Benefits of Diversity & Inclusion Strategy a First and foremost, this combined strategy adheres to one of the world’s current most important legal requirement for employment – equal opportunities With this, Tarmac is not only complying with the requirement, it is promoting it and showing the world that it is possible and beneficial for companies as successful as theirs b Next, Tarmac’s diverse workforce reflects their inclusive target market – they not focus on niche markets only They serve various customers, as long as they are needed they will provide no matter who the customers are For example, clients from a less developed country’s government require their services on building a concrete road for charity schools Tarmac, with its workforce with understanding and background on such scenarios will have more inclination to help c Another is that due to the range of skills and experiences they draw from the diverse workforce, Tarmac is quite adaptable to changes If for example one of the offices suddenly closed due to a terrible earthquake, employees with experience on surviving natural disasters will not only be able to adjust better but will also be able to cheer up the colleagues, to influence them and motivate them to continue working in another office d Last but not the least, the great cultural understanding leads the employees providing customers and clients with better service Especially since Tarmac operates internationally, culture is one of the most important external factors that should be considered in dealing with people Through understanding the Japanese business etiquette for example, on the proper way of giving and receiving business cards, there will be a give and take of respect for each other For the Japanese, a business card is an extension of oneself and thus must be Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 given and received respectfully with both hands If this is practiced even with the non-Japanese, Tarmac will all the more be seen as professional and culturally knowledgeable Section 4: Business Environment Factors, Integration of HRM, Leadership Roles of SHRM Question 4: External Internal Environmental Factors Employees Technological Factors Customers Figure 1: External & Internal Business Environment Factors Tarmac heavily relies on raw materials for the building aggregates and materials, thus the environment is one of the major factors which could influence the HR strategies The weather, natural disasters and man-made degradation of nature can affect everything terribly As mentioned before, if for example an earthquake transpired and ruined one of the offices, all staff and employees will have to be relocated and support should be given due to the unfortunate situation they have been in in the workplace With this, HR will have to strategize carefully along with other departments on the “what ifs” in the future Technology is ever changing from operations’ machineries down to the administrative computers and all else With this, Tarmac must also be updated and take advantage of the benefits of technological progress such as upgraded iHRIS systems that could provide for the easy management of thousands of staff and employees within the company If however the company doesn’t, it will slow down daily operations and tasks will just pile up As for internal factors, the employees first and foremost must be considered in coming up with the HR strategies The human resources are the blood cells of an organisation, and thus must be taken care of accordingly No good will come out if the employees are unhappy – work quality will be awful, relationships will be terrible, customer service will be horrifying, and ultimately the company’s reputation will be ruined Tarmac knows this, which is why it is driven to take care of the employees – with diversity and inclusion, and engaging employees, and etc Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 On the other hand, the customers are the source and hope for income – the nutrition that is required for Tarmac to stay healthy and develop Just like a fruit full of vitamins and minerals, customers are people that have to be taken care of until they are ripe enough for the picking, and continue to be fostered for future pickings Maintaining good relationships with customers and clients should be incorporated in the strategies of Tarmac, especially for the achievement of D in the DREAM (Develop Markets) Question 5: Tarmac is driven to achieve the overall goal to “…deliver the highest value from our resources for our customers, communities, employees and investors,” and this can be achieved through vertical and horizontal integrations Wright and McMahan defined fit or integration in 1992 as “…the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the firm to achieve its goal,” (Wei, 2006) Figure Source: http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2006/issue2/strategic.html Vertical and horizontal fit contributes to the firm’s competitiveness and so it is imperative to arrange the various HR practices systematically, (Wei, 2006) There are four suggestions for Tarmac to be able to ensure the achievement of the overall mission through the two integrations: A Horizontal Integration a By enhancing the HR policy of balancing out the prioritization of all the different HR practices – for example, if Tarmac HR institutes that more attention should be given training of the employees, the other practices will be discriminated such as the quality selection process in recruitment Therefore, everything else will be exercised poorly in effect and may bring higher costs and negative performance, (Wei, 2006) Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 b By giving a prioritized budget allocation to the HRM activities – The resources available for the movement of HR department is represented by the amount of budget or investment provided by the organisation, which is critical for the quality of HR activities and functions that would be practiced For example in Tarmac, certain HR practices need the expertise from outside organisations such as engineering firms with updated knowledge and studies on aggregates for employee training Without budget these experts cannot be tapped and Tarmac will miss out on this important training, and that will have negative impacts upon the achievement of the goal, (Wei, 2006) B Vertical Integration a By setting clear strategic goals – Since vertical integration is mainly influenced by the nature of strategy that the organisation adopts, the more uncertain the strategy then the vertical fit will be not be achieved An example was given by Wei (2006) that for firms to more effectively achieve their mission, it will be better to adopt a cost leadership strategy so that there will be uniform and objective criteria on performance evaluation For Tarmac, this could be dine even though the focus is diversity and inclusion (which would most likely require differentiation strategy), as it is still possible to recruit and select from diverse pools of applicants without much costs, as well as evaluating employees’ performance b By promoting values and culture system compatible to the HR practices with timely adjustment to strategic changes – The value and culture system of an organisation largely influences the vertical integration, and if this fact as an HR function is deemed unimportant by the organisation, it will be hard for the HR managers to design a series of HR practices in accordance to the corporate strategy Also, even if the HR department is highly motivated to provide the strategy, the success of adoption and implementation would be negative if there is lack of support from the top level managers who are supposed to represent the values and culture of the firm, (Wei, 2006) Tarmac’s diversity and inclusion strategy cannot be used to achieve the overall mission if only HR department complies with it If other employees discriminate, then it is all for nothing 10 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Question 6: According to Tan (2015), HR managers have four major roles when leading an organisation for change, in connection to Tarmac’s diversity and inclusion, these roles are the following: A Assessment of Tarmac’s readiness – With diversity & inclusion becoming the major HR strategy, HR managers and teams are responsible for observing and measuring whether Tarmac is indeed prepared for this change For example, they will have to consider if Tarmac has the means and resources, the directions, the culture, the systems and structure, or the practiced processes for implementing the change The culture for example – at present Tarmac gears towards inclusion and non-discrimination, with that it is apparent that Tarmac is quite ready for this change – but it will be the HR managers to decide upon that B Consideration of the timing of change – Once the organisation is ready, HR managers are then responsible for considering the speed of the plan’s implementation and how long it will last For diversity and inclusion, HR managers will have to consider the fact that it is not temporary – it is a change that will be permanently embedded within Tarmac’s organisational system and culture C Assessment of Tarmac’s internal stakeholders’ readiness – Aside from the organisation itself being ready, the HR managers must assess whether their team members themselves and the employees are ready, if they have the knowledge, skills, abilities and motivation for the change to be implemented effectively For diversity and inclusion in Tarmac, it is more likely that the internal stakeholders must be prepared in terms of their attitude and motivation to be open and to embrace the change D Formulation, implementation, and monitoring – Last but definitely not the least, actions will then be taken by the HR managers in order to implement the change within the organisation When Tarmac is already deemed prepared for the change, the HR managers must ensure that they have identified or minimised the pressures the change would implicate upon those affected and involved The right employees should also be tasked to the right activities on implementing the change to ensure success Aside from that, all those involved should be motivated to it or else it will be as if nothing is about to happen, and so everyone must be fully informed about everything 11 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 Conclusion The management of human resources is no simple task, compared to how it has been done traditionally in the past, it has become one of the challenges an organisation most definitely must prepare for and face head on It involves people who live their own lives, working for their families and careers not only for salary itself but for the benefit of the organisation Indeed, the human Illustration 2: HR Manager as Change Agent Source: http://www.mbaskool.com/2013_images/stories/june_images/hr_ bp.jpg resources are the lifeblood of a company, and therefore must be treated like it to function properly 12 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 References Hanna, S (2014, June 17) Lafarge Tarmac Retrieved August 25, 2015, from Construction Global: http://www.constructionglobal.com/Lafarge-Tarmac/profiles/1/LafargeTarmac-is-Concreting-a-Sustainable-Path-for-a-Constructive-Future Rüel, H., Bondarouk, T., & Looise, J K (2004) E-HRM: Innovation or irritation: An explorative empirical study in five large companies on web-based HRM Econstor, 15(3), 364-380 Retrieved 25 August, 2015, from Econstor: http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/78883/1/755420500.pdf Schwarts, J (2011, July 3) Strategic Partner Retrieved August 25, 2015, from Sweats to Suits: http://www.joyschwartz.com/tag/strategic-partner/ Tan, K (2015) BUS 721: Strategic HRM (Version 1.2 ed.) Auckland: National Tertiary Education Consortium Wei, L.-Q (2006) Strategic Human Resource Management: Determinants of FIt Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 49-60 Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2006/issue2/strategic.html 13 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 [...]... http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/78883/1/755420500.pdf Schwarts, J (2011, July 3) Strategic Partner Retrieved August 25, 2015, from Sweats to Suits: http://www.joyschwartz.com/tag /strategic- partner/ Tan, K (2015) BUS 721: Strategic HRM (Version 1.2 ed.) Auckland: National Tertiary Education Consortium Wei, L.-Q (2006) Strategic Human Resource Management: Determinants of FIt Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 49-60 Retrieved September... Conclusion The management of human resources is no simple task, compared to how it has been done traditionally in the past, it has become one of the challenges an organisation most definitely must prepare for and face head on It involves people who live their own lives, working for their families and careers not only for salary itself but for the benefit of the organisation Indeed, the human Illustration... select from diverse pools of applicants without much costs, as well as evaluating employees’ performance b By promoting values and culture system compatible to the HR practices with timely adjustment to strategic changes – The value and culture system of an organisation largely influences the vertical integration, and if this fact as an HR function is deemed unimportant by the organisation, it will be... major HR strategy, HR managers and teams are responsible for observing and measuring whether Tarmac is indeed prepared for this change For example, they will have to consider if Tarmac has the means and resources, the directions, the culture, the systems and structure, or the practiced processes for implementing the change The culture for example – at present Tarmac gears towards inclusion and non-discrimination,...b By giving a prioritized budget allocation to the HRM activities – The resources available for the movement of HR department is represented by the amount of budget or investment provided by the organisation, which is critical for the quality of HR activities and functions... not only for salary itself but for the benefit of the organisation Indeed, the human Illustration 2: HR Manager as Change Agent Source: http://www.mbaskool.com/2013_images/stories/june_images/hr_ bp.jpg resources are the lifeblood of a company, and therefore must be treated like it to function properly 12 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380 References Hanna, S (2014, June 17) Lafarge Tarmac Retrieved August 25,... experts cannot be tapped and Tarmac will miss out on this important training, and that will have negative impacts upon the achievement of the goal, (Wei, 2006) B Vertical Integration a By setting clear strategic goals – Since vertical integration is mainly influenced by the nature of strategy that the organisation adopts, the more uncertain the strategy then the vertical fit will be not be achieved An... L.-Q (2006) Strategic Human Resource Management: Determinants of FIt Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 49-60 Retrieved September 1, 2015, from http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2006/issue2 /strategic. html 13 Samantha Rae Tan CIB0000380