Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning - Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning. Answer: Introduction: Workforce planning is the strategic alignment of the organizations workforce with that of organizational needs and goals. It is a continual process where the main purpose is to ensure that all organizational, legislative and regulation objectives are achieved through the implementation of the workforce development strategy. The important components of workforce planning includes analyzing the strength of current workforce, identifying immediate and future needs of workforce and implementing strategic steps to fulfill unmet needs of employees. The importance and benefits of workforce planning is that the process ensures getting the right number of people with rights skills in the organization. This eventually has an impact on organizational mission, budget planning and strengthening workforce competencies[1].The main purpose of this report is to understand the important components of workforce planning and analyze the impact of different internal and external factors on workforce plan . The importance of contingency plan is also discussed to overcome challenges during the workforce development process. Workforce planning consists of staffing and scheduling decisions to determine the number and types of employees to be hired or dismissed in an organization. The process initiates with the development of mission, vision and business objectives of the organization and assessment of the number of workforce and skills needed to fulfill different objectives. This process of forecasting helps organization to achieve balance between supply and demands and find our better strategies for agility and value of business. The human resource professionals plays a crucial role in forecasting the type of talent needed in organization and developing recruitment strategies accordingly[2]. For example, when a new company is going to start business, they engage in workforce planning by setting different roles required from top to bottom in an organization to accomplish business objectives. In addition, already established companies engage in maintaining employment stability. This is necessary because of changes in skills mix due to technological advancement and other issues in business. For example, in the health care industry, the main deployment of health care staffs with requisite skill is critical for efficient service delivery in the area of cost, quality as well as quantity. Failure to deploy enough staffs often leads to shortage of clinical staff or oversupply. Shortage of staffs is associated with many negative outcomes such as burnout and medical error, whereas oversupply leads to economic efficiencies in the health care organization[3]. Hence, human resource planning is address pitfalls and promotes efficiency in business. Leadership development: Leaders also play an important role in human resource planning. They are involved in making progression plan for important positions, developing skills of existing employees, mentoring them and assigning employees into different projects. Mentoring role is mainly given to senior employees to maintain and develop the talents and skills of employees. Although young graduates come to business organization with academic knowledge and zeal, they lack the skills understand specific business or corporate dynamic[4]. Hence, mentors support new employees to overcome challenges in job on a daily basis and learn new tactics to overcome certain challenges in the job. Both leadership and workforce development are an important component that decides the success of business organization. Training for leaders and workforce development is effective when leaders and employee develop the required competencies to achieve desired business objectives. A strong focus on training and development is also beneficial in complementing talent acquisition strategy. Well trained leaders and employees eventually support the organization to gain a competitive edge[5]. However, there are many challenges in the process of training and development process which may hamper the purpose of training. There is a need to evaluate the impact and success of training to ensure time and investment is done in the right area to get the right results. A research done on impact of training and development of employees on employee performance in the telecom sector has revealed that performance of employees improved and proper training method also increased the satisfaction level of em ployees. Barriers in participation in training program is seen when employees are not aware about the benefits of training and development. In such cases, there is a need to raise awareness among workforce regarding the importance and benefits of training[6]. Recruitment and retention activities are the cornerstone of workforce planning and employment. Some of the common recruitment strategies include conducting job analysis, identifying key competencies for different job position, developing recruitment criteria and systematic process for recruitment. With the advent of technology and the digital revolution, business environment has become very unpredictable. In such situation, it has become most important for top business companies to recruit the right talent who can evolve in their role due to changes in business environment. Different organizations prepare their own human resource strategy and recruitment strategy is aligned with them to source diverse human resource into the organization[7]. The main aim of recruitment strategy is to select right recruitment sources and selection of the right websites promotes dissemination of the job vacancies to desired candidates. After the recruitment process, the most tricky and challenging process is the retention of talent in organization. Companies introduce bonus scheme and continual professional development initiative to ensure that human resource could be retained and most promising employees follow the path towards more responsible roles[8]. The specific process of recruitment and employee retention in specific industry can also be understood from example of specific industry. Walmart is the leading retail giant of U.S. and the HR management of Walmart manages recruitment needs using different methods suitable to different position in their organization. As it is mainly a retail business chain, certain retail specific criteria is also incorporated in the selection process. In addition, their optimal strategy for employee rete ntion includes an evolving compensation program, career development and employee relations management. This ensures that not just the skills, but also the morale and motivation of employees in workplace is improved[9]. Through this strategy, Walmart is capable of maintaining adequate human resource to manage current retail operations and future global expansion. Designating the contingent workforce: Apart from regular employees, business companies focus on developing contingent workforce to get assistance during short-term or seasonal project. The recruitment strategy for contingent workforce is to get specialized skill set and talent who can serve in the organization for a part-time basis. Although this is a new concept in workforce planning, however there is a rise in the contingent workers in both profit and non-profit sectors to provide more flexibility in the job. There are numerous benefits of a contingent workforce for business organization. Firstly, it leads to cost savings as employers pay only for the work and the time given by employees, they do not have to cover holiday pay, health insurance and other allowance into the employees salary package. It also promotes productivity in business as only those contingent workers are hired who have the necessary skills to handle specific task and no training arrangement is needed for them[10]. These workers are also very goal d riven and productive within their roles. In the context of high performance work systems, contingent workforce contributes to both numerical flexibility and access to new knowledge[11]. The strategic workforce planning of business organizations are dependent on organizations strategic plan, external factors affecting workforce changes and demand for workforce maintenance internally. The external factors that influence workforce demographics include: Workforce demographics: In the business organization, workforce demographics changes after older generation retires and the newer baby boomer generations enter the workforce. As the new generation is highly influence and dependent on internet and digital technology, the human resource management need to make dramatic changes in their workforce strategies. For example, earlier, Companies would post job vacancies in newspaper or email to attract new talents, however digital devices and social media site is highly used by HR professionals to recruit new employees into the job. Hence, with changing workforce demographics, the process of hiring as well as types of compensation package has changed[12]. Currently, competitive organizations are creating value with digital HR as the current generation is hooked to tablet or smartphones. Partners and suppliers: The availability of appropriate partners and suppliers also affects the demand and supply of the company and eventually the recruiting efforts needed in business companies. The importance of demand and supply data in recruitment strategy is that it provides insights about job seekers and exact number of employees needed considering the availability of suppliers and production level[13]. Political and regulatory environment: The recruitment and retention of talent in companies is challenged by different government regulation. For example, introduction of new workplace standards by the governments creates the pressure to align the work process and workplace design according to the new law. New regulatory changes in workplace standards results in changes in all areas of HR department starting from hiring, training, compensation and employee development initiative[14]. Revenue and budget estimation: The recruitment drive in any organization requires a lot of time as well as investment. The cost involved in recruitment may vary according to the mode of recruitment, method of advertising job vacancies and the benefits provided to workers. Hence, recruiting budget is fixed on the basis of overall revenue and complete budget in other areas of the business. Organizational structure determines the type of employee and talents needed in organization. Some companies have a divisional structure where different departments in critical for business, whereas some have a functional structure where employees with specialized skills are required. Hence, based on organizational structure and workflow process, the HR department has to change the desired candidate profile and recruitment process. Company culture is defined as the shared assumptions and norms present in work environment that reflect the beliefs of the company. A positive culture is one where all employees was comfortable and have no disagreement regarding any work related behavior. In such culture, employees and leaders share their behavior and work towards common goal. There is sense of unity in such organizations. However, there are other organizations too in which conflict and resentment in common due to disagreement between leaders and the employee. Hence, based on the type of culture, methods of workforce planning and employee development strategies change. Culture is mainly linked with recruitment because culture has an impact on employee attraction, selection as well as retention strategies[15]. Example, companies like Qantas have a good brand image and employers are easily attracted in such companies requiring little advertising and recruitment efforts. However, in a company which is struggling with th e work culture, it is a tedious task to attract as well as retain new talents. Considering the high flexibility and unpredictability of business organization, it has become vital for the HR department to focus on employee retention strategy. This is necessary to retain exception employees who deliver the right performance in complex situations. Recruiting the desired candidate is a time consuming process, hence retention strategy is important to save money as well as time. After an employee leaves, the HR has to start the process of recruiting and training the new joinee again which is a loss to the organization[16]. Hence, competitive organization always put lot of efforts to retain those employees who contribute significantly to the success of the organization. Some of the effective strategies that top organizations have implemented to retain employees and minimize turnover are as follows: Training employees: The process of training reinforces sense of value in employees and their motivation and satisfaction towards work is increased. The focus on training employees to develop their capabilities, skills and knowledge optimizes employees potential and improve their work performance. This in turn acts as major source of competitive advantage for business organization. Most business firms incorporate training employees in their long-term workforce planning so that the workforce builds new skills and develop the confidence to cope with uncertain situations in business. Both the organization as well as the employee benefits from the training process. The employee develops the perception that the organization is willing to provide career development opportunities to them and they in turn gives their best effort to achieve key business objectives[17]. Hence, training is an important necessity for the retention of skilful workforce. Rewards and recognition: One study points out that rewards also has a positive impact on job satisfaction and employee retention levels. Different sectors struggle to balance high turnover rate and skill shortage often affects their business. This is common in the public health sector and employee retention is a challenge because of the competition factors. Most health care organization fails to match the salary with their competitors and end up losing the skilful health care personnel. In such situation, efficient reward strategies act as a good solution for retaining the core employees of the organization. Reward system mainly in the form of salary has a good impact on leaving intention of employees and employees in such organization tend to remain longer in the organization. Rewards have a direct impact on job satisfaction level and this eventually has an impact on employee retention[18]. Hence, during workforce planning, the HR department develop strategic retention plans to reta in skilled labors in workplace. Coaching and feedback: The senior employees role in providing coaching and feedback to new employees also ensures that they remain aligned to the goals of the company and do not focus on taking alternative career routes. Leaders support the new employees to adapt to their careers. The coaching and feedback session also provides training and development opportunities to employees which in turn strengthens the retention goal of business firm. The supervisors support and formal developmental process minimize voluntary turnover rates, reduces the intention to leave, increase productivity and retain a more committed and satisfied staffs. Career discussion along with mentoring and coaching also develop career adaptability skills in workforce[19]. Need for contingency plan Currently, business organization has to deal with many unusual events such as rise in competition, changing demand of consumers and sudden drop in sales. In such situation, it becomes extremely important for competitive organizations to recover from unusual events. The need for contingency plan is seen in such situations so that business managers plan in advance to protect their resources and maintain profitability in business[20]. For example, a big retail giant like Walmart also experienced a period of downturn when their sales dropped in 2016. The main reason for this unusual event was that Walmart was facing challenges in completely transforming their stores to the internet age. In such situation, their contingency plan was to prepare for the complete transformation of their brick and mortar store to online stores[21]. Such strategy was essential to retain back the past dominance in retail sector. In an effort to execute contingency plans too, contingent workforce acts a major so urce of advantage. These workers are hired specially to engage in specialized work. In the context of Walmart, they have engaged several IT staffs to provide online options for sale to their customers. The features of the contingency plan may differ according to different industrial context. The success of contingency planning is dependent on the risk assessment process. In case of the real need for implementing such plans, all employees are made aware about the need for implementing such plans. The time schedule for each activities and the delegation of key roles for each employees is decided to maintain smooth running of the contingency plan. This process is important in the context of workforce planning to build resilience skills. The unusual event at the Medin Corporation, a supplier of the sterilization case and accessory products for medical device markets also gives effective example of the need for contingency planning. Medin businesss was affected after the Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey and in response to this, the company developed a crisis contingency plan by making arrangement for grants. This helped to prevent the downtime that resulted in the disasters[22]. Similar type of contingency plan is also made by competitive business organization to main their sales and profitability. Impact of industrial relations In the process of strategic alignment of human resource with business objectives, the industrial relation practices also determine employee performance and engagement in work. Industry relation practices are related to the workplace climate and system of practices enabling effective work performance. Some of the effective industrial relations practices in favor of employees include developing competitive succession plan, training program and performance appraisals system for employees. Employee specific industrial relation is seen when training or safety committee focus on addressing all grievances of employees. Trade unions and employers pay much attention to skill upgradation of workers to cope with challenges in business due to technological advancement and globalization[23]. Conclusion The report summarized the importance of human resource planning for achieving business objective and maintains competitive edge in business. This is a systematic process consisting of several components all which together helps to get the right employees with right skills sets for the success of business. The discussion on the important aspects of workforce planning has mainly revealed that it starts with the process of assessment of skills and position needed in organization and this identification complements the process of recruitment, selection and retention of employees. Despite the development of clear visions and objectives in business organization, currently companies are struggling to retain their position in specific industrial sector due to changes in external and internal environment of business. The relevant external and internal factors affecting business and employee performance has been discussed and it mainly implies that the challenges for business leader has mainly increased due to the introduction of new technology and digital revolution in the world. 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