Strategic human resources management cas

Tarmac Samantha Rae Tan Strategic Human Resources Management: A Case Study... That being said, all the human resources within Tarmac are managed to work together on one mission to achie

Tarmac

Samantha Rae Tan

Strategic Human Resources Management: A Case Study

Introduction

When one hears the name Tarmac, most probably the first thought that pops into mind would be a construction scene with concrete, bulldozers, cement, heavy machinery and of course, people in orange vests wearing yellow hardhats These people could be considered as the faces of Tarmac, however they are in fact only part of an even bigger and deeper organization That being said, all the human resources within Tarmac are managed to work

together on one mission to achieve one goal, which is – “To deliver the highest value for our

customers, communities, employees, and investors”.

This paper is a case study on Lafarge Tarmac – a well-known business of building materials and aggregates which originated in the UK – employing nearly 11,000 people for various skilled positions Through studying the company, this paper will be able to identify the differences between traditional HRM and SHRM, the functions and different models, and the benefits of various strategies that could be applied to the company Besides that, the factors that could affect its functions in the business environment will be evaluated as well as the integration ways the company uses to achieve goals Last but not least, the roles of the HR team

in leading and implementing organisational change will be identified and studied

All in all, this case study will ensure the clear understanding of different elements in SHRM through the lens of Tarmac, which would definitely aid aspiring businessmen in leading its own human resources

Section 1: SHRM

Question 1:

A Three differences between Traditional Human Resource Management and Strategic

Human Resource Management:

One difference between the two is how the employees are treated For HRM, the employees are merely the workforce needed to get the job done in return for financial payment However, for SHRM it’s more than that – employees get the job done in return for not only financial payment, but also with their own personal growth and satisfaction in mind SHRM treats their employees as people, not just robots who would do everything they are told to do Another difference is regarding the time horizon of their functions – HRM is only short term and on the other hand SHRM can be short, medium, and most especially long term Also, in terms of their aim and key investment, HRM does what it does for the sake of saving as much money as it can while utilizing its workforce for the company For SHRM, it does that as well but it does that while taking care of the workforce

It gives importance to investing on the people’s skills, knowledge, and personalities to achieve and maintain competitive advantage

In relation to that, apparently Tarmac utilizes SHRM in way that it treats its people as the most important resource who need to be engaged, interested, developed, and motivated They recruit specialist employees for specific roles through strategic recruitment procedures involving the whole business in mind, and thus they have to make sure that the

people possess the right skills and knowledge to meet the objectives

B Four roles of SHRM

1 Strategic Partner – As a company which produces aggregate across UK and various

wholesale & private customers in different countries, there is a need for Tarmac to operate on a proper organisational structure The HRM is thus responsible for this

in order to formulate the correct structure, to monitor and ensure it is implemented properly, to find ways to improve and change it again if needed, and also to always act as partners with the other operation managers – not just people who find people for the company – but as real partners

2 Administrative Expert – It is common to think that HR people are mainly

administrators concerned with the workforce in the company, however, HR experts are actually experts as administrators itself – they can perform their functions in various effective ways to be better, faster, for cheaper and less time and even be

able to participate in the company more as strategic partners In Tarmac for instance,

it has a detailed process for recruitment in order to gather the right people for the right positions To efficiently do so, they can rely on technologies that could filter automatically the CVs and cover letters, and other documents they receive from applicants, to save time on shortlisting for interviews This would be beneficial as

it would speed up the intricate process of choosing numerous diverse skilled people

from a range of a backgrounds

3 Employee Champion – To the employees, the bosses are people who they follow as

leaders, while the HR department are people they expect they can rely on For Tarmac, which focuses on the importance of engaging their employees for them to remain committed, there is a need for the HR to function as their champions who help and protect them They help Tarmac employees be motivated by giving orientations and training to the line management regarding how and why employees must have high morale They also help by being their voice within the management for their concerns and opinions, and with their voice they participate in the decision-making as well – this serves as providing them with excellent communication systems Lastly, Tarmac ensures the employees morale by recognizing their

performance and reward them accordingly for their efforts and achievements

4 Change Agent – Nothing is permanent in businesses, especially when it concerns

people As ones who have the responsibility over the workforce in the company,

HR people are the ones who must aid the organisation to adapt quickly to any changes They are the ones to often initiate, if not facilitate organisational changes such as in technology and the structure aside from the people Tarmac faces the situation in the market place wherein it needs to respond quickly to future challenges, which is why their human resources look out for internal change where individuals leave to take other posts, individuals retire, some are promoted, there are new technologies that have to be taught and trained, and even the economic

climate that may result in more or less demand for the products

C Two major HR strategies of Tarmac

Tarmac immensely benefits from developing its own diverse workforce, and with that,

it has become a purpose for the company to handle them with the following two major strategies:

1 Diversity – according to the case study, Tarmac sees diversity as all the complex

ways in which people are different, from gender, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs

and etc This enables Tarmac to provide its customers with something special and beyond their normal expectations – this is

because Tarmac shows value to each of

their distinctive qualities, thus guaranteeing

their “feel good factor” Aside from that, it

promotes family-friendly working patterns

for both genders, as well as bullying will be

less if not none at all, and the same goes for

harassment

2 Inclusion – this on the other hand is the act of embracing all the differences, it is

valuing it all and even enabling every member to exploit their strengths For example, as a company mainly focused on construction, it has been a stereotype that the workforce is composed of males, but although at present 86% are males, Tarmac has sought to change that and women are being employed even more for different roles and levels – thus it has aimed for the working culture of valuing each other’s differences to utilize and develop each one’s potentials

That being said, there are two main points as to how and where these strategies fit in Tarmac’s organisational value chain First is that Diversity and Inclusion serves as the strategy

to achieve the company’s competitive advantage – which means it is basically the company’s work culture, it is the way every department in the company works Marketing and Sales for example which is focused mainly on generating revenue and customers must always focus on diversity and inclusion not only amongst themselves, but on the customers as well Second is that the strategies are mainly from the Human Resources Management since the workforce is the lifeblood of the company – it is the main source of the strategies It is where the management focuses on instilling the values upon each employee, monitoring their performance based on the alignment with the strategies as well as evaluating them Therefore diversity and inclusion are both strategies that fit in both primary and support activities as a whole

Illustration 1: Source - http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UZxYtetS-pc/VG5DVZWswNI/AAAAAAAADGo/PgN2v_J7Goc/s1600/diver sity.png

Section 2: SHRM Models

Question 2: Two Best SHRM models for Tarmac:

1 Business Partner Model – Tarmac’s core goals (DREAM) are a set of aims that cannot

be achieved so easily without the cooperation of all departments and teams Thus, HRM should not just be the traditional human resources who do paperwork, they must undertake four roles in one as discussed by David Ulrich, and also explained beforehand Through these four roles, HRM will participate in decision making along with other leaders, aligning the HR initiatives with all the core strategies within the

business, (Schwarts, 2011) With that, DREAM will be achieved more efficiently The

second reason is that Tarmac is driven and focused to embrace change, and this model

is perfect for that since through the model, HR professionals will focus on supporting and often leading changes within the organisation through being change agents

Advantages – Through the model, Tarmac HR will have storing relationships with the

executive management, with their leading role in the company being highly visible Another is that HR will not be the last to hear any news regarding the company, HR will be part of that – thus there is fast response time in case there are big corporate problems

Disadvantages – However, in being more focused with the strategic business

partnering, the equally important role of HR to interact personally with customers will

be less emphasized Also, there will be less emphasis on the rewards system for employees who are doing great

2 E-HR Model – With over 6,000 employees, it would be a good option for Tarmac to

peruse this model because it will simplify all paperwork that are often so time-consuming and would require more manpower This would align Tarmac to the background of being innovative and modern, wherein all HRM services required from

the department will be offered via intranet for all employees’ use, (Rüel, Bondarouk, & Looise, 2004) Also, with that, the HR will be able to focus more on its core activities including decision making, employee relations, and etc

Advantages – Through this model, all employees including the management will have

their own “personal portal” that could definitely improve productivity due to the tailored information provided by the technology Also, the web technology is then fool proof – meaning there will be less errors committed as compared to the normal call centre model

Disadvantages – Though it is quite advantageous, it cannot be denied that the downside

to it is that the HR managers’ time will be more difficult to spare due to the fact that they will be focused on more important things and the technology will already basically provide for everything else anyway With that comes the problem wherein certain HR issues that need human cognition will be difficult to solve, especially if the E-HR is being heavily relied on Another disadvantage is that these technologies could need time and set-up costs, plus even when it has been completed, results may not even be what was expected Therefore, it also has risks

Section 3: Designing and Implementing HR Strategy

Question 3:

A Tarmac organisational life cycle stage – Currently, it would be easy to identify that

Lafarge Tarmac is on its Maturity stage With a revenue that has reached more than a billion and continuously increasing, Lafarge UK and Tarmac both have weighted presence in the construction industry made even more significant through their merger, (Hanna, 2014) They have stable organisation culture and have already incorporated retention strategies for the employees, as well as continuously provides training with regards to the HR & employee relations Stuart Wykes, the Director of Land and

Natural Resources who is a leader in the company stated, “Our approach to operational

excellence and our innovative, high quality products will help us maintain our leading position and create the sustainable communities of the future,” (Hanna, 2014) This

statement shows that they are indeed in the leading position, and thus seek to maintain that maturity

Knowing one’s stage in the organisational life cycle is very important because

it would provide the company with the knowledge on the situation and position it

currently is in in the market Whether it is still developing and growing, or if it is already reaching its highest peak, or if it is already failing and unless major changes will be done the company will bankrupt Just knowing the current stage would make the decision-makers be continuously alert and stay on their toes The second reason it is beneficial is that with this alertness, they will be able to find out whatever they need to

do and whatever would affect these decisions they are about to impose Therefore, it becomes a thorough research about the company both internally as well as externally

B Benefits of Diversity & Inclusion Strategy

a First and foremost, this combined strategy adheres to one of the world’s current

most important legal requirement for employment – equal opportunities With

this, Tarmac is not only complying with the requirement, it is promoting it and showing the world that it is possible and beneficial for companies as successful

as theirs

b Next, Tarmac’s diverse workforce reflects their inclusive target market – they

do not focus on niche markets only They serve various customers, as long as they are needed they will provide no matter who the customers are For example, clients from a less developed country’s government require their services on building a concrete road for charity schools Tarmac, with its workforce with understanding and background on such scenarios will have more inclination to help

c Another is that due to the range of skills and experiences they draw from the

diverse workforce, Tarmac is quite adaptable to changes If for example one of

the offices suddenly closed due to a terrible earthquake, employees with experience on surviving natural disasters will not only be able to adjust better but will also be able to cheer up the colleagues, to influence them and motivate them to continue working in another office

d Last but not the least, the great cultural understanding leads the employees

providing customers and clients with better service Especially since Tarmac operates internationally, culture is one of the most important external factors that should be considered in dealing with people Through understanding the Japanese business etiquette for example, on the proper way of giving and receiving business cards, there will be a give and take of respect for each other For the Japanese, a business card is an extension of oneself and thus must be

given and received respectfully with both hands If this is practiced even with the non-Japanese, Tarmac will all the more be seen as professional and culturally knowledgeable

Section 4: Business Environment Factors, Integration of HRM, Leadership

Roles of SHRM

Question 4:

Tarmac heavily relies on raw materials for the building aggregates and materials, thus

the environment is one of the major factors which could influence the HR strategies The

weather, natural disasters and man-made degradation of nature can affect everything terribly

As mentioned before, if for example an earthquake transpired and ruined one of the offices, all staff and employees will have to be relocated and support should be given due to the unfortunate situation they have been in in the workplace With this, HR will have to strategize carefully along with other departments on the “what ifs” in the future

Technology is ever changing from operations’ machineries down to the administrative

computers and all else With this, Tarmac must also be updated and take advantage of the benefits of technological progress such as upgraded iHRIS systems that could provide for the easy management of thousands of staff and employees within the company If however the company doesn’t, it will slow down daily operations and tasks will just pile up

As for internal factors, the employees first and foremost must be considered in coming

up with the HR strategies The human resources are the blood cells of an organisation, and thus must be taken care of accordingly No good will come out if the employees are unhappy – work quality will be awful, relationships will be terrible, customer service will be horrifying, and ultimately the company’s reputation will be ruined Tarmac knows this, which is why it is driven to take care of the employees – with diversity and inclusion, and engaging employees, and etc

External

Environmental Factors Technological Factors

Internal

Employees Customers

Figure 1: External & Internal Business Environment Factors

On the other hand, the customers are the source and hope for income – the nutrition that

is required for Tarmac to stay healthy and develop Just like a fruit full of vitamins and minerals, customers are people that have to be taken care of until they are ripe enough for the picking, and continue to be fostered for future pickings Maintaining good relationships with customers and clients should be incorporated in the strategies of Tarmac, especially for the achievement of D in the DREAM (Develop Markets)

Question 5:

Tarmac is driven to achieve the overall goal to “…deliver the highest value from our

resources for our customers, communities, employees and investors,” and this can be achieved

through vertical and horizontal integrations Wright and McMahan defined fit or integration

in 1992 as “…the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to

enable the firm to achieve its goal,” (Wei, 2006)

Figure 2 Source: http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2006/issue2/strategic.html

Vertical and horizontal fit contributes to the firm’s competitiveness and so it is imperative to arrange the various HR practices systematically, (Wei, 2006) There are four suggestions for Tarmac to be able to ensure the achievement of the overall mission through the two integrations:

A Horizontal Integration

a By enhancing the HR policy of balancing out the prioritization of all the

different HR practices – for example, if Tarmac HR institutes that more

attention should be given training of the employees, the other practices will be discriminated such as the quality selection process in recruitment Therefore, everything else will be exercised poorly in effect and may bring higher costs and negative performance, (Wei, 2006)