Employer of Choice, Essay Example

All the HR practices are based on the assumption that the employees are the company’s major asset. It is still not always understandable how the company is supposed to create this asset, use it for the good of all the stakeholders, and avoid problems connected with it. HR department is entirely responsible for all the procedures, aimed to build up, maintain, and effectively use the trust and respect between the employer, unions, and the workers. The entire process of the creation of the rightful and effective relations with the employees consist of a number of practices: establishing trust and communication, managing issues with the unions, improving performance, establishing effective complaint systems to avoid frequent whistleblowers’ reports. There are several ways to attract the employees and make them feel positive of the company they are involved with. Such practices might include careful selection and recruitment, larger salaries, extra holidays, opportunities for the career growth.  These actions may still not be enough – the employer is not supposed to be “feeding” its workers an additional bribe in some sort. Great employee is not just a loyal “pet”, but a responsible, active, and thoughtful partner. The companies that somehow manage to create the environment that is comfortable for all the employees are called the “Employer of choice”. That means that a regular, well-informed worker is purposefully and willingly choosing one employer over another. The one that is usually chosen is referred to as an “Employer of choice”. It is clear that the HR department is mostly responsible for gaining the title, though long-term strategic goals need to be set by the senior management to achieve the high standards.

A great number of workers claim the management is not responsive and regards them as the simple labor force, without brains or soul. Failure to engage people and regard them with respect reduces the business effectiveness (Pomeroy, 2006). Quite surprisingly, minor steps towards understanding the employees’ problems, very simple and general demonstration of respect towards the workers improve the effectiveness a lot and make the employee surprisingly committed and loyal.

With the development of the modern technologies, it has become much easier for the employees to look for a better job and choose among the many variants. Having access to the Internet and other information sources, they can easily find out their true market worth and behave on the labor market according to that knowledge. For the employers the situation has changed a lot too: the employees are no longer easily and readily available, and their talents are to be fought for.

Companies are searching for the new ideas and approaches to gain the strategic competitive advantage. Their capability of drawing, optimizing, and retaining top talents is an essential step to accomplish the purpose (Rizzo, L.A. 2008).

There is a set of guiding standards and principals, which the employer is advised to follow in case the title “employer of choice” is desired (Rizzo, L.A. 2008):

1. It is extremely important to address the employees honestly and respectfully.
2. Employers should act proactively, focus on the real problems and deal with causes, rather than effects.
3. By focusing on self-sufficient targets, employers can use the efforts of employees to their maximum.
4. Managers should do their best to reveal the best in the employees, and be dedicated to partnership and cooperation.
5. Employers should give the workers an opportunity to develop and grow.
6. Employers and their employees should seek to bring laughter and joy to the workplace

The organization I decided to choose for an analysis as an employer of choice is Procter and Gamble – the world leader in fast-moving packaged consumer goods. Its key strategy is to be operating with the top effectiveness, achieve the maximum goals, and provide top satisfaction to all the customers in any field of operations. One of the key features of its strategy is the ability to innovate, create, and use the newest ideas to make sure P&G is the leader in all the imaginable aspects of the modern business. At the same time, the corporation should remain a stable, reliable, and recognizable partner for the customers, investors and partners.

In order to support the given business strategy, a great variety of programs in all the HR spheres is being implemented. It is very hard to identify one single activity that contributes to the final goal, as only the combination of actions leads to the real results. Instead of viewing separate corporate initiative, I would like to focus on a unique culture within this fascinating multinational corporation.

Selection and Recruitment

One can grasp the uniqueness of the company’s attitude towards its employees on the very first stage – when the new person applies for a position in P&G. Company is looking for potential employees in the best universities and colleges, looking for the young, ambitious, gifted and flexible professionals. A set of tests and interviews allows Procter and Gamble identify the most candidates with the greatest potential – all the tasks are aimed to figure out not how much the person knows at the moment, but his/hers ability to learn and apply the new abilities in practice. This demonstrates intentions to build up a team of professionals, able to face any difficulties.

Training and Development  

P&G never saves money to provide its employees with the best development opportunities there are. When the person is willing to learn and develop both professionally and personally, he/she is given this possibility. Company is willing to pay for basically any necessary seminars, up to very expensive MBA programs. As a result of such attitude, the employees really feel they are not just the labor force, but a part of something much more important – a responsible and stable company, which takes care of its workers. Moreover, no outside professional is asked to occupy a management position – all the senior staff is raised inside the company. This way, the company is very-well integrated as even the CEO once was a simple sales manager.

Diversity

It is also important to note that the company is highly tolerant and competitive inside. No difference is made based on race, origin, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. Each and every employee has the same possibilities, as well as duty. This is one of the core ideas in the HR programs – a number of managers are making sure there is no any form of discrimination.

Compensation

Nobody ever meant that working for P&G is an easy task. All the employees are expected to contribute to the top of their abilities. Some of the tasks are very complicated, some may seem impossible. The corporation strives for excellence itself, and expects the same from each worker. The pressure, however, is always well-rewarded. P&G pays highly competitive salaries and a set of bonuses.

British American Tobacco

The second company that can definitely be considered an employer of choice is British American Tobacco. Though the company is producing a very controversial good – cigarettes, its commitment to increase the employee’s satisfaction can not be denied. BAT is always eager to invest in its workforce and is providing free seminars and trainings to increase their employees’ professional skills. The managers are always friendly and know all their subordinates by names. The team spirit is also very high in this company, as the majority of the coworkers are friends. The corporate culture is also very strong, implementing a set of rigid values, which makes BAT a pleasant place to work in. Compensations are also rather high, being in the top 25% of the appropriate segment of the labor market (mycareer.com website).

In conclusion, I would like to say that in order to proudly bear the title an “Employer of choice”, the company has to implement all of the practices described above closely follow the trends in the HRM development and follow the examples of the successful enterprises, like P&G and BAT.

References

Pomeroy A. “Great Communication, Great communicators” – HR Magazine, Alexandria, July 2006, Vol. 51, Iss. 7; pg. 44

Rizzo, L.A. 2008 “Six Principles for Becoming an Employer of Choice”. Retrieved July 30,  2009 from: http://hr.blr.com/whitepapers.aspx?id=75871

“British American Tobacco goes beyond employee expectations” mycareer.com website. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from: http://content.mycareer.com.au/advice-research/employer-of-choice/fmcg/british-american-tobacco.aspx?s_rid=eoc-splashpage-featuredemployers

Procter and Gamble official website. Retrieved July 30, 2009 from: www.pg.com