Class Reflection

I thought that the five steps for letting an employee go were interesting. I don't think that most companies realize that there is a procedure for that kind of thing. I am sure large companies like Walmart and Home Depot probably have some sort of procedure to let employees go; however, all the smaller companies that I am familiar with do not have a procedure for this. I can see the value in giving employees with potential a second chance, and I am sure that this would cut down cost. Although, I don't think it is healthy for a company to prolong the release of someone who is not, or most likely wont in due time be, good for the company.

Separating and Retaining Employees

Minimizing employee turnover is an interesting topic. As we have discussed in class, there have been many studies and papers written on this subject. So, what makes this such an area of interest? My conclusion is that is must hit the business owners' pocket books. If this were not so then businesses would not be worrying about it so much.

The fact of the matter, as this chapter discusses, is that a company with lower turnover has happier employees, maintains their customers longer, and have lower expenses due to the lower need of training and so forth.

My thought is what will retain an employee the longest? What must a company do to help employee satisfaction? And, how far should a company go before it is no longer a benefit and to decrease expenditures?

To answer these questions, the book gives some insight on how to let go those employees not worth retaining. Thus, avoiding wasting energy on "dead beat" employees. The chapter talks about a five step process to terminate an unwanted employee. Those steps are: Unofficial spoken warning, official written warning, 2nd written warning plus threat of temporary suspension, temporary suspension plus written notice that this is a last chance to improve, and termination. Now, this is the process a business might follow if it has high hopes for an employee, but the employee is not producing. However, if the a business does not believe that the employee will make corrections to his behavior than these steps can be avoided and termination can take place immediately.

This is just one way to address the issues business' face. There are many more things to address the above mentioned questions. Such as, intensives, employee recognition, continued training,and much more. All of these help to give employees satisfaction and thus aids in employee retention.

Chapter 6

Selecting Employees and Placing Them in Jobs-
I think this is a very important process that a company must go through. If the wrong candidate is chosen a multitude of issues can arise. A lot of head ache can be avoided by choosing the best candidate for the position.

There are several things to be considered when choosing an employee from applicants. All of the applicants past experience and skill should be considered to verify if they are qualified for the position to which they are applying, as well as any other helpful information that can be gleaned.

The intro to this chapter talks about the importance of hiring a conscientious employee. The book's definition of someone who is conscientious is one who works and is determined to resolve the task at hand whether or not there is a reward for completion. This general desire for the welfare of the company sets average employees apart from conscientious employees. Those who are conscientious persist until the job is done and done right. You may have a smart employee, but if he is not conscientious then when he comes across something new that he does not know how to do or handle he will not have the endurance to figure it out.

Thus, when choosing employees there is much more to consider than just experience, talent, skill, and "smarts". Learning about the persons character will say a lot about what they will do as an employee.

Chapter 7- Training

Training is vitally important in an organization. Without training, employees can feel lost, unsure of what to do and have lower productivity and efficiency. I worked at a tool retail store a couple years ago. This company had in place some training tools to help employees know the uses and maintenance of the tools we sold. This training allowed me to better provide information to the customers, answer their questions, and become a valuable asset to the company in sales. This company used programs to teach basic tool knowledge and also fostered helpful manager-employee training. This also helped me gain a better relationship and communication with my manager.

The preparation of training programs is also vitally important. To make good use of training time, training should be directed to the specific needs of the employee without straying into un-necessary material. By focusing on just what the employees needs, he or she will be able to retain more and the information will be valuable to his or her success.

I believe there is a number of areas that training is necessary; product training, sales training, training on communication, and any other skill that an employee might need. The better trained an employee is the more successful he or she will be and the greater satisfaction he or she will find in the job and the more valuable he or she will be to the company.

Chapter 5

This chapter addresses a very important issue among the business world. The chapter addresses the issue of hiring the right number of qualified people to the demand of what you are providing. I believe it is a very difficult issue to resolve. This becomes a great balancing act between the number of employee you have and should have.

This problem becomes ever more difficult than the same issue with inventory/ stocked items because you are dealing with people. If you just let people go on a whim than it will be difficult to get employee loyalty if you are not showing them loyalty. However, you can not keep someone only to let them sit around without anything to do.

The chapter talked about the importance of planning when it comes to this issue. The more you can predict the future market than the more accurately staffed you can be. Of course there are adjustments that must be made along the way, but the more efficient planning that is done the better.

By planning ahead a business can protect the employees they have and minimize the ill relations they create by just following the turn of the market. There are other method, however, than just hiring and firing according to demands on the market. A business can also offer a temporary leave or temporary position until the market deans otherwise.

Besides having the right number of people, this issue becomes more complicated recognizing that these people must also be well suited and qualified for these positions. Be obtaining a large number of qualified applicants a business can hold that information on file and have a number of qualified people to pull from when needed.