Introduction
The disappointing level of sales and revenue from the two overseas distribution centers as per Mr. Fisher resulted mainly from his employees. This was true according to Fisher and he could not have responded any better than firing almost half if not all the staff members. Nevertheless, as much as he had to fire them, he should have tried to find the underlying cause of what made his employees not to deliver the projected sales and revenue.
HR & Planning
Among the steps, I would engage when dealing with the situation, including a critical analysis of the probable causes that might have lead to dismal sales and revenue returns. This would be by interviewing several employees especially the sales representatives. The interview would entail confronting the non-performing employees to identify the problems encountered and ways of solving them.
Secondly, I would point out how the performance of every staff is critical to achieving the company’s goals. Therefore, analyze and examine each representative’s sales report after which I will fire the non-performers just as Mr. Fisher did.
The next move will focus on identifying a qualified full-time local European sales manager. Personally, as much as the foreign managers tried, they could not fully concentrate to convey the anticipated sales and revenue margins due to distraction from home countries for example family issues, personal interests, and many more. A local European manager is familiar with the European market environment and therefore best suited for the position. Furthermore, he would also be able to market the company even during personal social encounters, unlike the foreign manager.
Fourthly, I will embark on a review plan of the employee’s remuneration package. Remuneration was among the reason for disappointing sales and revenue margins according to the case study. The two managers’ pay packages were not reviewed to reflect the living and working levels of Belgium and Germany. This was echoed in the unanticipated tax bills by Belgium authority to the Belgium manager. Any business that demonstrates insensitiveness towards its employees, pays dearly (Cazes and Nesporova, p.2). Better remuneration will boost the employee’s morale and make them feel part of the company rather than just see themselves as the company’s workers.
To inspire the sales representatives, I would introduce commissions, based on the sales they make. In addition to that, the sales team will regularly be undergoing rigorous training and refresher courses to advance their customer-service skills. This and many other measures will place the sales team of the two distribution centers in a better position of achieving impeccable sales and revenues.
Regarding the hiring of employees, I would recommend the company hire its employees on contracts after, which the contracts will be renewed depending on the employee’s performance. The employees should also be expected to sign performance contracts that will time after time be reflecting them what poor performance means to the organization as a whole. All the agreement should in written form and well documented.
Any warning given to employees due to misconduct or non-performance should also be documented. The significance of documenting agreements or remarks on employee performance is to protect the company from its decision in the future. From a personal point of view, having such measures will ensure the productivity of the employees that will see the company soaring to greater heights, while employees feel motivated by being associated with an achieving company.
Conclusion
Finally, I would recommend that Mr. Fisher’s company being multinational hire the services of an international attorney who is well acquainted with international labor and economic laws. The attorney will be advising the executive management on legal matters bound to affect the organization resulting from its decisions.
Works Cited:
Cazes, Sandrine., & Nesporova, Alena. “Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) and its effects on Labour Market Performance.” Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office. 2003.