Introduction
Maria Hernandez, a human resources (HR) director in a big city, has a lot of daily work. Some of her tasks require a quick response: a potential sanitation union strike, the COVID-19 situation, and a lawsuit against one of the city managers (Bowman et al., 2021). Maria must also manage long-term projects: flexible working conditions for couples with children, performance evaluation in key departments, and incentive payments for selected employees (Bowman et al., 2021).
Analysis
Maria hopes to implement online access to HR policies and procedures, retirement succession planning, benefits plans, pre-retirement education, expand job grade descriptions, and work with a pension reform consultant (Bowman et al., 2021). I think Maria Hernandez is an example of a good HR director, as she tries to address all the city’s problems and protect the citizens. Still, she needs managerial improvements to do her job more effectively.
Hernandez tries to simultaneously solve problems that require a quick response and not delay long-term initiatives, which is her advantage as an HR director. However, two of the issues on the list, the harassment lawsuit and the worries of the medical staff, should be her priority, so they need to be given more attention. According to the Constitution, the state’s duty, represented by the state administrator, should be to protect the life and health of citizens (CDC, 2019).
Medical professionals in crisis conditions should receive priority attention (Bowman et al., 2021). Then, harassment lawsuits need to be resolved, as this is also part of protecting the public. Prioritizing these two tasks will allow Hernandez to resolve them more quickly and preserve the city government’s reputation since both cases risk undermining the public’s trust.
The city manager is busy with calls to departments, media, managers, and facilities all day. While online communication is important, it is essential to ensure the working time is appropriately distributed (Dzigbede et al., 2020). The call should be prepared initially and prioritized by importance, postponing communication on long-term improvements to a later date (Dzigbede et al., 2020). Communication with the media and the public is one of the most critical tasks for the HR director position. Still, in a crisis, Hernandez can recruit an assistant to communicate with the media (Bowman et al., 2021).
Hernandez’s day chart shows she uses her time effectively to accomplish her goals. Nevertheless, she fears that she may often be distracted by issues caused by a difficult period (Bowman et al., 2021). She can transfer part of this responsibility to her assistant, who is already immersed in operations and can provide qualified answers to the managers. Thus, the main recommendations for Hernandez will be to prioritize tasks more competently and to effectively delegate part of the responsibilities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Hernandez is a good HR director as she tries to balance long-term projects and short-term challenges. She also tries to ensure her presence to resolve all critical issues. She feels responsible for the well-being of citizens and promotes appropriate initiatives. To improve their efficiency, tasks that directly threaten the safety of city residents must be prioritized and tackled. A valuable recommendation is delegating responsibilities, which allows the HR director to devote more time to solving primary tasks during a crisis.
References
Bowman, J. S., Berman, E. M., West, J. P., Van Wart, M. R. (2021). Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes, processes, and problems, 7th ed. Sage Publications.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019). Legal considerations. Epidemic Intelligence Service. Web.
Dzigbede, K. D., Gehl, S. B., & Willoughby, K. (2020). Disaster resiliency of US local governments: Insights to strengthen local response and recovery from the COVID‐19 pandemic. Public Administration Review, 80(4), 634-643. Web.