Introduction
A company requires both physical and human resources for its operations. The human resource is the greatest asset that an organization can have; without it no business transaction can take place. It ensures that the business is run in the right way, and thus determines the current as well as the future state of the business. Great leaders or managers are the ones that are able to combine available strengths and weakness for the good of the organization. How well the human resource is sourced, developed and retained in the organization is the work of management (Smith & Mazin, 2004: 4). This paper gives a short overview of the current state of employees at Peter’s pizza and gives recommendations on how to improve and retain the human resources at the restaurant.
Over View of Peter’s Pizza Restaurant
In the recent past, the rate of employee turnover at Peter’s pizza restaurant has been increasing. Before Well Joan was promoted to the position of management, the restaurant had been running smoothly and there were no cases of employee turn over. This rate might adversely affect the productivity of the restaurant if the problem is not addressed. Even though Joan was good at ensuring increased productivity and customer satisfaction, she failed in staff management. Employees are the most valuable asset in any organization and have to be appreciated. Most of the employees at the restaurant are always complaining about the treatment they receive from the management. None of them shows any sign of contentment on the work done. When interviewed, most of them said that, the working condition is ideal but there is no understanding between the staff and the management.
Customers had also noted the employees’ reaction and lack of contentment. Most of the customers said that, they were receiving good service and the meals were good but the employees were not happy. Some even testified of having heard commotions from the kitchen. Employee’s satisfaction is of utmost importance to the business; a happy and well rewarded employee increases business productivity and the reverse is true. Management is supposed to encourage dialogue with the employees as it is a way of recognizing where a problem lies. This is not what was happening at Peter’s pizza, the manager (Well Joan) criticizes employees instead of listening to them.
Selection and Recruitment
According to Bohlander & Snell (2009:189), the recruitment and selection of appropriate staff are the foundation of any quality-conscious firm. In the past, professionals were recruited on the bases of technical criteria such as qualification, experience and membership of appropriate association. Although these criteria are still important, technical skill are only a part of the overall service delivery, which also include functional criteria such as marketing and business skill and the ability to foster client relationship (Smith & Mazin, 2004:3). The customer centred firm should take into account all these criteria and consider recruitment as the first stage of retaining loyal, well-motivated and happy employees. Technological changes call for competent and skilled employees thus organizations should plan for recruitment and selection to ensure that their employees match the current technology.
Training and Development
A professional employee, like any other member of staff, has a limited set of skills which require continual upgrading in the phase of changing market demands and technology. Only by updating these skills, using well developed programs, can professional firms ensure that they equip their staffs with the skills needed to respond to future business expectations. The management should ensure that employees are well motivated; highly motivated employees are more productive (Swamson, 2009:406). The employee must be appraised appropriately to enable the human resources department recognize the areas that need to be improved. Those who have attained the expectations of the management should be rewarded accordingly.
Retaining
Bratton & Gold (2001:238) observes that, as the employees meet the organization’s expectations, it is important for the organization to realize that the employees also have their targets that they want to be met. This is the stage when many employees consider looking for another job if the current job is not satisfactory. The human resource department must come up with measures that are aimed at retaining the employees. One of these ways is to make the working environment as comfortable as possible. Remuneration and reward of employees are other ways that can be used. By reward we mean that the efforts of the employee are recognized. This has not been the case at Peter’s pizza where the wages have remained constant for quite along period of time.
Conclusion
The success of any organization is dependent on how well the human resources are developed and retained. The management has to ensure that it has, at all times, the right number and quality of personnel necessary to attain its objectives. To have a winning team, organizations should put in place elaborate programs for hiring, training, retaining and redeployment of its staffs. Human resource development can only succeed if it receives support from the top management.
Reference List
- Bohlander, G. & Snell, S., 2009. Managing Human Resources. London, Cengage Learning
- Bratton, J. & Gold, J., 2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. London, Routledge
- Smith, A. S. & Mazin, A. R., 2004.The HR answer book: an indispensable guide for managers and human resources professionals. New York, Amacom Div American Mgmt Assn
- Swamson, R., 2009. Foundations of Human Resource Development: Easy read Large Edition. San Franscico, ReadHowYouWant.com