Introduction
Meeting the requirements of the federal employment laws should be prioritized in any organization. This paper will discuss employment laws and regulations, relevant to Plastec Company, list the HR metrics which should be given priority and discuss ways of increasing employee retention and reducing turnover. The firm should carry out affirmative action to include minority groups in the workforce. Paul should also update job descriptions because any weakness could increase the severity of damages in a lawsuit. The firm should be able to attract and retain critical talent that supports its competitive strategy. Paul should address factors that cause employee dissatisfaction.
Employment laws and regulations
Paul should pay attention to Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to avoid penalties or a complete closure. Section 6 (b) (5) requires that employers should maintain safety and health standards that cannot make a worker incapacitated due to regular exposure to the work environment (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.a).
Paul should also pay attention to laws that ban discrimination because a claim can be brought against the firm. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulates discrimination laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating with regard to available benefits, opportunities and privileges “based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (EEOC, n.d. para. 1). The firm is not allowed to collect information on race before recruitment, unless the information is used for affirmative action.
Neutral job recruitment policies that leave out the minority groups may be considered as discrimination. Soliciting application from a population that may result in one race or color being recruited may be considered discrimination. Requiring employee to have an educational background not needed for running the business may be considered as discrimination as well (EEOC, n.d.). Plastec Company uses semi-skilled labor. It increases the likelihood of having claims brought against it. Semi-skilled is available in most racial groups. Paul needs to balance the racial composition of personnel to match the labor market.
There are other sets of laws that protect against discrimination that Paul needs to evaluate. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects workers from pay discrimination based on sex (GSA, n.d.). Paul needs to ensure that workers with the same job description earn the same wage rates. The Age discrimination Act of 1967 may require Paul to take affirmative action to include persons that are aged 40 and above (GSA, n.d.). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disability Amendment Act 2008 may require affirmative action to include persons with disabilities (GSA, n.d.).
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) prohibits employment of children aged 14 and 15 years in manufacturing companies (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.b). Failing to display posters with certain worker rights will result in a penalty from regulators (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.c).
HR metrics that should be given priority
Paul should capture metrics that will allow him to use affirmative action to fill positions. The data should include age, gender, educational level, race, job description, and benefits. The information will enable him to make changes that may prevent a lawsuit based on discrimination. Plastec Company should apply affirmative action to include minority groups, such as the Indians and Serbs.
Visier (2012) discusses that organizations should care more about critical talent retention rather than employee turnover in general. Some of the metrics he should capture include the resignation rates of top performers, promotions, average promotion wait time, and market compensation ratio (Visier, 2012). Market compensation ratio compares the firm’s compensation rates with those of the industry (Visier, 2012). Paul can use the metrics to evaluate the actions that can be taken to attract, motivate and retain the critical talent.
Updating job descriptions
Updating job description of Plastec workers is priority because it gives Paul a clear picture of the actions he should take to recruit new workers. Paul will need to fill only positions that have inadequate personnel. Updating job description will allow a fair distribution of duties among the workforce (Tyler, 2013). It will enable him to have an efficient workforce. Workers whose job responsibilities overlap can be dismissed in result of redundancy.
Updated job descriptions place Paul in a better position to recruit employees that match the organization’s operational performance, and competitive advantage. Yu & Cable (2014) discuss that traditional methods of recruitment that focus on KSAOs are mainly used to fill positions for operational performance. Competitive advantage recruitment enables a firm to select critical talent that will make a company have above-normal returns, relative to competitors, in key performance areas. It can focus on innovation and marketing. The traditional form of recruitment looks at individual abilities when strategic recruitment evaluates the contribution of employees to the organization. Yu & Cable (2014) explain that an organization should be able to convert employee contribution to a dollar-value.
Another importance of updating job descriptions is that it can act as a defense when a lawsuit is brought against the company (Tyler, 2013). The firm can be sued for discrimination in hiring. Unless qualifications match job descriptions, the organization can easily lose the lawsuit. The law states that an employer should not hire for KSAs that are not used in the business. If an employee is injured while engaging in duties that are not under his/her job description, the lawsuit can result in penalties. If two employees have the same job description, they should have equal payment. A lawsuit can be brought against the company for discrimination, especially when the workers are of different sexes or races.
Job descriptions can be used as a benchmark for performance evaluation (Tyler, 2013). It also forms a basis for which employees can be compensated. Yu & Cable (2014) explain that it can be used to distinguish between recruitment expectations and outcomes.
Three ways of increasing employee retention and reducing turnover
Employees at Plastec are leaving due to lack of compensation, benefits, and growth opportunities. These are the factors that create job dissatisfaction. If they are remedied, Paul can be able to achieve good result within a short period.
Rewards include compensation, benefits, and promotion (Mathis & Jackson, 2012). Benefits and compensation should start with job descriptions, and performance evaluation. It is one way the firm can demonstrate that it values high performance. Paul should also use the market compensation metrics to see that the company does not offer wages that are below the industry average or major competitors.
Employees are concerned about career training and development. It can be solved by designing programs that allow training. The firm can create flexible working hours to allow time for training. Paul should use the metrics of the firm’s expenditure for training employees. The firm should spend some resources on training workers for critical strategic positions. It will depend on the firm’s financial ability.
Organization and management factors will cover job descriptions and promotion. Paul should update the job descriptions and ensure that employees are compensated according to their responsibilities. Paul should remember that retention should start by managing factors that would bring employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
Addressing employee dissatisfaction will require the firm to have a justifiable compensation and benefits system. The organization should offer opportunities for growth through promotions, training, and wages. The company should be more concerned about retaining talent that enhances its competitive advantage.
References
EEOC. (n.d.). Facts About Race/Color Discrimination. Web.
GSA. (n.d.). Equal Employment Opportunity. Web.
Mathis, R., & Jackson, J. (2012). Human resource management: Essential perspective. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Tyler, K. (2013). Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions [Press release]. Web.
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.a). Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Web.
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.b). Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Web.
U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.c). Poster Page: Workplace Poster Requirements for Small Businesses and Other Employers. Web.
Visier. (2012). From HR metrics to workforce analytics: Five key workforce insights that every employer should capture for greater business impact. Web.
Yu, K., & Cable, D. (2014). The Oxford handbook of recruitment. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.