Case Study: Newave Engineering

Talent Managment Model (TMM)

Background

Newave Engineering Ltd. has established a strategic objective to develop a Talent Management Model. The purpose of the model will be to address:

· changes that are occurring within the business

· fit with the corporate direction

· the changing workforce

· ongoing workload resource issues

· brain drain of technical resources

The current recruitment process is of primary concern; at the moment the process is not as effective as needed for the organization to succeed with key strategic initiatives. The existing process is managed solely through the central human resource management function.

Recruitment activities take an average of six to eight weeks to complete due to the availability of human resource consultants to manage each recruitment activity. It sometimes takes over eight weeks to even obtain approval to advertise key positions externally. This particular process is long and drawn out.

Managers rely heavily upon the expertise and resources of the Human Resource Division. With staff movement through promotional opportunities, brain drain and ongoing workload issues, the Human Resource Division has a very difficult time keeping up with all the issues and tasks on their list. There needs to be a more streamlined approach to effective human resource management.

Recently, Project Management submitted a posting request for a critical resource on a high visibility project. Due to the bogged down approval process for advertising externally the posting was not approved for three weeks, delaying the advertisement and extending out the recruitment process. The end result was that the required resource was hired six weeks later with a start date two weeks out. This delayed the critical project and created customer relations issues in the field!

The CEO, Dr. Knowall, has recently announced to the organization that responsibility for recruitment will fall on the hiring manager as of the fourth quarter. He has announced that the Human Resources division will develop a Human Resource Model to standardize and streamline business processes focusing on recruitment activities as a first priority. In his announcement the CEO stated, “If we have a streamlined and standardized model we can become ‘the employer of choice’ and save millions of dollars annually through employee retention programs.”

Dr. Knowall feels that a project is necessary to develop this model immediately!

Initiation of change requests

A change request can be defined as a formal proposal to alter a system; this frequently occurs when a client requests an increase or modification to the previously agreed-upon deliverable. In this case study, a change request can be initiated by; the CEO, Dr Knowall, as he feels the human resource division must develop a human resource model that will standardize and streamline business processes by focusing on recruitment processes as a priority. He firmly believes that the development of the model will make their company an employer of choice, thus saving them millions of dollars annually through employee retention programs. He is not impressed by the lengthy recruitment process caused by delays; and the unprecedented ripple effects on the company’s operations. The CEO wants to see improvements immediately; the project management can also initiate a change request based on their recent experience hiring a critical resource on a high visibility project (Sikdar & Payyazhi, 2015). The delayed advertisement and extended recruitment process resulted in the eventual delays of a vital project and thus created customer related issues in the field. The project management division is fully aware that had the recruitment process been smooth and taken less time, they would not have run into problems with customers. Thus, to avoid a repeat of the same in the future, they could initiate a change request to streamline the recruitment process.

Rejection of Change Requests

During the change effect analysis phase, the relevant project leader decides whether to approve or reject the change request. A change request could be rejected for various reasons. The request does not correspond with company standards and policies; the change request is not logical or feasible; the change request may have been raised and requested at an earlier phase. When a change request is rejected, it is documented on the changelog. Rejection means that the change will not happen at this time or that the project needs further planning or work. The reasons for the rejection are then stated on the rejection details wizard. Even though communicating a rejected request to the team is not necessary, it is crucial to prevent confusion.

Change Control Process

A change control process is a means through which project managers submit requests to stakeholders to be reviewed and decide whether to approve or reject the request made.

IMPLEMENTATION– the change is implemented

CLOSURE – the change request is closed

ANALYSIS – the change is approved or denied

ASSESSMENT- the change is evaluated

INITIATION – CEO initiates a change request

The change control process begins with the CEO, Dr Knowell, initiating a change request via a change request form. The project manager will then receive it and store it in an easily accessible location. The second stage is to evaluate the request that has been submitted. This step will involve assessing the information by a project or department lead, who will look at issues such as the required resources, the request’s impact, and to who the request should be sent (Sikdar & Payyazhi, 2015). The change impact analysis phase is where the ultimate decision on whether to approve or reject a change request is made. If granted, the change request will be signed and disseminated to the team to ensure that everyone knows the necessary shifts. The implementation phase will include an update to the schedules and deliverables. The request is ready for closure after it has been distributed and implemented. Typically, all documentation is placed in a location that may be accessed later at this final phase.

Approvers of Change

Change approves include the program sponsor, a top executive in a firm with the power to make decisions related to the program. By assisting the team, the project sponsor ensures the project’s success. The CEO of the company, Dr Knowell, is the project sponsor in this case study. He thinks that with a streamlined and uniform methodology, the corporation can position itself as an employer of choice and save millions of dollars yearly through staff retention programs. The project manager is the second member. The program manager has to incorporate every program factor, including the program processes, the program knowledge domains, and the subject matter. Because of their deep understanding of the project and project management, a project manager is crucial. Finally, there is the Change Control Board. A Change Control Board (CCB) is a team of main stakeholders that comprises the program’s sponsor and other members from senior management. In some firms, a Change Control Board reviews modifications to all projects; in others, specific projects may have their control boards.

Communication Process

The success of any change adopted by the company depends on the cooperation of those affected by it. Those affected by a change need to understand the purpose of the change, which can only be achieved through effective communication. Communication should be specific and clear from the start. The employees of Newave Engineering Limited should be informed from the start of developing a human resource model and the benefits of the model to the operations of the model to the company (Kallio et al., 2015). Communication should also be through the right people, and generally, this should be through their direct supervisors or departmental leaders. Communication should also be through multiple channels, mainly to ensure you reach different people through the most responsive channels; this could be through in-person meetings, emails, or even forums. The mechanism also significantly increases exposure to the information and thus better comprehension of the change being communicated (Goksoy et al., 2016). Effective communication should also address the employees’ concerns by customizing the communication based on how each is impacted. When communicating change to the company’s employees, the human resource manager should anticipate emotional reactions and thus communicate with empathy. Change communication needs to flow both ways. Thus, employees should be allowed to influence the change process to increase enthusiasm and commitment to change where necessary repetition should be used to communicate and have everyone on board effectively.

Key groups in the change process

For the success of the change control process, it will be essential to consider the following groups: The employees of Newave Engineering Ltd will be very critical for the success of this process, and the mechanisms should be put in place to ensure proper communication to them and also receive their opinions and feedback; the human resource consultants who manage each recruitment activity are very critical to this change process and should be involved in the planning, implementation and the execution of the change process; the human resource division is also very crucial as it is the one tasked with spearheading the development of the model; the project department is equally important because it was the department that was most impacted by the delays experienced and thus necessitated the change.

Documents that will need updating

When a project’s scope changes, the numerous papers involved in project management are impacted and must be updated. Among the documents is the Project Business Case, which validates the project (Goksoy et al., 2016). It explains why the project is being undertaken and defines its goals, objectives, and outcomes. A project charter is a document that explicitly empowers the project manager to plan, execute, and manage a project. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a method for organizing work into manageable chunks, frequently time-based. Additionally, it includes a list of required deliverable and deconstructs goals into work bundles and tasks necessary to accomplish this aim; Change request management is a process for tracking any official additions or modifications to the previously agreed deliverable at the start of the project’s execution. Project managers are accountable for ensuring that changes are thoroughly documented and understood by all parties involved; The project schedule establishes the scope of work to be completed and the associated timeline.