Low promotion opportunities in the testing product department at bsc vietnam

1 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC HO CHI MINH CITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS NGUYEN VAN THO LOW PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TESTING & PRODUCT DEPARTMENT AT BSC VIETNAM MASTER OF

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UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC HO CHI MINH CITY

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

NGUYEN VAN THO

LOW PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES IN

THE TESTING & PRODUCT DEPARTMENT

AT BSC VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Ho Chi Minh City - Year 2021

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UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC HO CHI MINH CITY

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

NGUYEN VAN THO

LOW PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES IN

THE TESTING & PRODUCT DEPARTMENT

AT BSC VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUPERVISOR: DR TRAN PHUONG THAO

Ho Chi Minh City - Year 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ABBREVIATION iii

LIST OF FIGURES iv

LIST OF TABLES iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v

ACKNOWLEDGMENT vi

CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM CONTEXT 1

1.1 Company introduction 1

1.2 Business symptoms 4

1.2.1 High turnover rate in Testing and Product Department 4

1.2.2 Decrease on time delivery 7

1.3 The important symptoms 7

CHAPTER 2: PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION 9

2.1 Preliminary analysis 9

2.2 Possible problems 11

2.2.1 Low promotion opportunities 11

2.2.2 Poor compensation and benefits 15

2.2.3 Lack of knowledge sharing 16

2.3 Main problem validation 17

2.4 Main problem definition and consequences 19

2.4.1 Main problem definition 19

2.4.2 Consequences of the main problem 20

CHAPTER 3: CAUSE VALIDATION 22

3.1 Potential causes 22

Unclear job leveling matrix: 22

3.2.2 Ineffective performance appraisal: 24

3.2 Real cause validation 25

Unclear job leveling matrix 25

Ineffective performance appraisal 28

3.3 Main cause justification 30

CHAPTER 4: SOLUTIONS SUGGESTION 32

4.1 Alternative solutions .32

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4.1.1 Alternative solution 1: Build Job leveling and competencies matrix database 32

4.1.2 Alternative solution 2: Build Job leveling and competencies matrix apply Willis Towers Watson approach and HR Software .36

4.2 Solution chosen 42

4.3 Action plan 43

CHAPTER 5: SUPPORTING INFORMATION 47

5.1 Research methodology summary 47

5.2 Interview transcripts 49

References 56

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ABBREVIATION

- OTD: On-time delivery KPI

- MT: Maintenance team

- TE: Testing and product

- OP: Operation team

- BSC: new name of company

- JD: Job Description

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1:Manufacturing process 2

Figure 2: Organization chart of BSC 3

Figure 3: Organization in Testing & Product Department 4

Figure 4: Turnover rate monthly 5

Figure 5: Turnover rate monthly YTD Source: Internal report of HR Department- BSC 2020 5

Figure 6: Turnover rate Department Source: BSC 2020 6

Figure 7: Turnover rate Department Source internal report BSC-2020 6

Figure 8: OTD chart Source: Department report-2020 7

Figure 9: Initial cause effect map 11

Figure 10: Updated map 19

Figure 11: Example of job leveling matrix: Source: (63) 23

Figure 12: Final cause and effect tree 30

Figure 13: Willis Towers Watson HR Software Source: (68) 37

Figure 14: Dashboard of HR software 39

Figure 15: HR software 40

Figure 16: Alternative solutions 42

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2: Job leveling comparison in BSC Synthesized by author 26

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study analyzes the case in BSC Vietnam located in Long Thanh, Dong Nai, Viet Nam and focuses on the problem in the Testing and Production Department The symptoms are high turnover rate The symptoms analysis was conducted by intake meeting with the analysis of quality and qualitative research based on primary data from the company Some potential cause was found out based on the analyzing result, then the main problem was discovered Next steps are to list out some potential causes and find the main cause This study also proposes some alternative solutions for BSC and choose one solution that is suitable for the Department at present Based on the current issue at Testing and product Department of BSC Vietnam, this research is useful and critical for Human resources and Department can improve the situation

Due to the confidential information, the real name of company could not be disclosed

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to appreciate for the two years period studying in ISB Ho Chi Minh City

I also would like to express my thankfulness to Dr Tran Phuong Thao for her valuable guidance

Besides, I would like to thank my family; friends who always support me to finish this thesis well Especially, thanks for my colleagues who gave me valuable information and advices so that my thesis can be finished well

BSC started running a subsidiary company in Paris in 1899 Start some first steps for globalization In 1921, BSC launched its garage services outside Germany, increasing very fast by 1930 there were already 2,750 workshops in 70 countries, bringing the name BSC in over the world IT started developing electronic components in the mid-1950s

From the 1980s, BSC ventured into telecommunications and started constructing technology for space satellites and cell phones and implementing public and private telecommunications networks Then they started investing in the automation industry

BSC Vietnam was started as the first brand office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1998, until now, it developed in 6 locations, the business including Automation and software, Sale services and manufacturing The manufacturing plant was established

in 2000 located in Long Thanh, Dong Nai, Vietnam The main product is the belt for the global automotive market This is one of the leaders in providing the component for the global car market

Number of employees is around 3000 in 2020 Most of them are working in manufacturing

Company products

The main product of the manufacturing plan in Vietnam is auto belt for car

Products manufacturing process flow:

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Figure 1:Manufacturing process

The manufacturing processes started from raw material, which is the very first material of the product

Pre-assembly parts process will use the raw material to produce the components At the assembly process, these components are assembled together to become the main product However, this product needs to be tested randomly for the quality and durability before shipping to the customers

Vision and mission

We make the future: Lead inspire succeed Lead: coach and empower associates to live continuous improvement Inspire: In a dynamic and open environment, all associates actively shape the future Succeed: achieve business targets and demonstrate social responsibility for a sustainable future Leading the future: this is the mission vision of BSC

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Organization chart of BSC Vietnam

Figure 2: Organization chart of BSC

Testing and product Department

With approximately 59 people in the Department, Test and product have 3 functions for Operation the machine and perform the test requirement from stakeholders, machine maintenance team which are responsible for machine maintenance, troubleshooting when machines have issues and Product Engineering will responsible for Engineering change, product problem solving

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General function for the Department is product quality, liability and durability testing The final assembly products will be tested randomly according to defined sample frequency of individual product type

Figure 3: Organization in Testing & Product Department

1.2 Business symptoms

1.2.1 High turnover rate in Testing and Product Department

The general overview for Turnover rate of the whole company in 2020 is good, under limit target 0.81% However, the turnover rate is not similar between Departments The turnover rate in the Testing and product Department is over limited Let's analyze the primary data from the HR Department to find out the current symptoms of BSC

According to the data from the HR Department, the Turnover rate of the whole company in 2020 is still good, under the target limit figure

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Figure 4: Turnover rate monthly

Source: Internal report of HR Department- BSC 2020

Also, from the internal report of the Human resources Department, the turnover rate year to date of the whole company is still under target line

Figure 5: Turnover rate monthly YTD Source: Internal report of HR

Department- BSC 2020

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However, when analyzing the ratio of resignations by Department from

2019-2020, we can see that several departments have turnover rates exceeding the upper limit They are Testing & Product, Budget controlling and Information Technology Department

Figure 6: Turnover rate Department Source: BSC 2020

Figure 7: Turnover rate Department Source internal report BSC-2020

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The Controlling Department is related to Factory budget and controlling so that much

of information is highly confidential The IT Department has only 1 person in total 8 headcount, so that Testing & Product department is chosen for solving the problem

1.2.2 Decrease on time delivery

Measure the commitment of the Department to delivery on time services according to defined lead time of each test request This figure was calculated by (Total of test per month – total of test delay over lead time)/Total of test per month Target for the Department in

2020 is 95%

Figure 8: OTD chart Source: Department report-2020 The OTD in 2020 under the target It means the number of test delays increase

1.3 The important symptoms

There are two main symptoms were discovered during the interview However, this research will focus on 1 main symptoms of the company to find out the solution Based on the interview with related people in the company Mr Huy, current team leader of maintenance group said that “This department now have some symptoms, but the main symptom that cause much effect to the department is high turnover rate Because high turnover rate causes a lot of effort from the management, related department for

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recruitment, training” Other similar idea from Mr Bao, Department manager “The main

symptom is high turnover rate, and need to focus now”

There is relation between OTD and turnover rate Mr Bao also revealed that “New

employees join the team with less experience causes low productivities, increase fail rate

and customer complain” Low productivity because there are many new processes in the

Department that quite different with processes from other company as well as the system

and technology here are state of the art technology in the world So that, new employees

need time to study and get familiar with these new knowledges Increasing the fail rate

because of mistake when operate the system or not completely familiar with all procedures

The customer complain is also increase The customer of this Department are stakeholders

that have demand for product testing such as Manufacturing, Quality Department, Project

Department and other departments Customer satisfaction survey was conducted quarterly

to get the feedback from stakeholders From the survey result, the score of customers

complain was decrease It means the level of customer complain increase In conclusion

the symptom high turnover rate was chosen for solving because of it critical to the

department at the present and the limited time and effort of student

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CHAPTER 2: PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

2.1 Preliminary analysis

To identify the potential problem, the intake meeting with the Employee in BSC

to find out the symptoms and understand deeper the current problem of the organization

Intake meeting with employee in the Testing & Product Department

Mr Nguyen Huu Huy- Team Leader of Testing machine and equipment Maintenance team

Mr Truong Hoai Bao – Department Manager

Mr Do Minh Tai – Senior Engineer in Testing Department

Intake meeting with Human resources staff

Ms Tran Nguyen Bich Thao – Team Leader in Human resources Department

Ms Ly- HR Department, job leveling expert

Intake meeting with people from other Departments

Ms Nguyen Kim Loan – Production quality Department

Nguyen Huy Dao: Process Engineer Manufacturing Department

Intake meeting with employee who left this Department or BSC

Interviews were also conducted with employees who have left the company This is important data to understand the reason they left Based on recorded data from the HR Department for 14 people already leaving Department, we can classify into different characteristics: name, team, degree, when they left BSC, their experience and level at the time they leave Department (Noted that MT is Maintenance team, TE is Testing and product and OP is Operation team)

Phuong

TE Master

In summary, it could be seen that most of the people are Senior and expert with working experience from above 5 years Some are junior engineers but they have Master

degrees from international Universities

After analyzing above data, the company symptom is a high turnover rate and increases the test delay in the Testing & Product department This finding is based on the analyzing of company data and interviews with related people

Interview some people who used to work for BSC to know more why they leave the company There are various perceptions and perspectives recorded From the interview

2.2.1 Low promotion opportunities

General introduction about the definition of employee grade in BSC company

Each employee has a defined level or called grade The grade will increase with experience and position in the company The lowest grade is 44, 45 applied for operators and technicians who have a high school or college degree The maximum they can increase

is 55 if they don’t update their degree to Bachelor or higher to become an Engineer The higher grade is 66 applied for University fresh graduates with Bachelor degree and working

as an Engineer These Engineers can work for 3 to 4 years to be promoted to next grade 77

an employee needs to have if they want to be promoted to a higher grade

Testing and Product Department responsible for testing product, machine problem solving, product problem solving, machine operation and maintenance The highest grade

an Engineer can achieve is grade 77 and don’t have opportunity to grow higher grades The only position of Team leader is 88 and Department Manager is 99 Doesn’t have an Expert position there So, it is a limited promotion to higher grades Other Departments have expert positions for employees, so that employees can develop and specialize as a problem-solving expert, project manager or technical expert

Interview some people who already left the company to know the deeper reason Nam and Hien, who already left BSC for other companies, have the same year working experience and similar reasons They mentioned that “I left BSC because other companies offer me higher positions and a clear career goal where I’ll be able to grow up” According to Mr Tai, who has 3.5 years working in BSC and totally 8 years working experience He has already moved to the Project Department He said that “I want to find a better position in another Department, because in my current position, I’m not able to grow

to a higher level” In this department, he is responsible for many tasks and over workload, while in new role, he specializes in Project Management Mr Tien with 10 years working

an activity of identifying and moving an employee to a higher position with increased responsibilities that requires a higher level of knowledge, skills and abilities and for which the employee may receive additional compensation (2) It has an effect on the satisfaction

of the promoted person's needs for esteem, belonging and security (3) Promotion is not only to support and motivate experienced employees but also to send a message to other employees to improve or to go Good promotion policies increase employment satisfaction and morale, productivity and decrease turnover by rewarding employees who gain the desired commitment and qualifications in the organization (4) In contrast, poor promotion policy is one of the factors that can limit the promotion opportunities Promotion procedures offer staff the chances to move up their careers within the organization, together with the available opportunities and abilities of employees (5)

Promotion and opportunity for Growth is one of the factors responsible for retaining employees in the organization Employee Promotion is the advancement of an employee from one job position to another job position that has a higher salary range, a higher level job title, and, often, more and higher level job responsibilities (6) Employee Promotion is the advancement of an employee from one job position to another job position that has a higher salary range, a higher level job title, and, often, more and higher level job responsibilities (7) Some research found a close and positive correlation between promotions and job satisfaction which help retaining employees (8) High performance employees needed to maintain a competitive advantage They want career growth opportunities to develop and grow in their career ladder (9) Job satisfaction has a direct

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effect on level of productivity, commitment and performance Moreover, job satisfaction not only improves the retention of employees but also reduces the cost of hiring new employees (9) Studies show that some factors affect high turnover are low compensation, low job motivation, unsafe workspace and lack of career opportunities and challenges.Promotion is the upward movement of a person in an organization’s hierarchy, together with increased responsibilities and usually with increased Income After promotion, the duties and responsibilities increase with more important job titles, a bigger desk, more expensive office decor, less supervision, and greater freedom of movement (10)

The promotion of employees for a job of higher significance and higher compensation Also the movement of an employee upward in the hierarchy of the organization, typically that leads to enhancement of responsibility and rank and an improved compensation package is a promotion (11) The definitions of promotion are different between studies In some situations employees will ask for promotion when they rotate the position (10) In others cases a promotion is reported by the employee(7) In general, promotion is identified by the employee Sometimes promotions are identified from the changes in position or grade within the organization structure (12)

Promotion can help employee’s salary increase much as well as their responsibilities will be extended They feel more satisfy with their job an effective member in the team The probability of promotion provides employees with higher position, respect, higher prestige, higher responsibility and higher earnings Organization can also recruit expertise from outside but to motivate and keep current employee spend their effort for the job (13) From a psychological point of view, it ensures the career development of an employee; promotes employees to feel better wellbeing and greater esteem Career promotion satisfaction is one of the causes of employee turnover Lack of promotion and appraisal could lead to employees intention to go away from an organization (14)

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2.2.2 Poor compensation and benefits

During the interview, Mr Hien said that “My salary here is low, the new company offered me double the current pay The remuneration growth is also very slow I have worked here 10 years but my salary is similar to a new fresh Engineer” Dung complained that “poor compensation and benefits compared with other companies in the similar industry There are only 13th salaries and around 1 to two months' benefit yearly” Mr Thao from the Human resources Department said that “most employees from Test and Product leave because they aren't satisfied with salary and benefits”

Mr Phong said that “salary revision one per year is very less In a new company we have

a chance for salary revision two times each year” Mr Hien said that “new company offer

me double than current pay”

Employee turnover intention is usually affected by salary, compensation packages, and remuneration growth When discussing the reason why they leave a job, employees often mention salary, and benefits, because they are not happy with their pay (15) Employee compensation and benefits includes all forms of pay, rewards, bonuses, commissions, leaves, recognition programs, flexi work hours and medical insurance (16) Some study revealed that compensation components are important factors to retain and motivate employees (17)

Compensation refers to any monetary return or nonmonetary service received as a consequence of employment Two kinds of compensation: direct compensation, this is cash payment for working, and indirect compensation, this includes insurance and other non-cash payments Benefits are a form of indirect compensation Total compensation is defined

as a combination of direct and indi-rect compensation (18), So that, total compensation is only a part of a reward system, including pay and benefit as well as important personal satisfaction motivators designed to encourage organizational, individual, or group performance (19)

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2.2.3 Lack of knowledge sharing

After a deep interview some Engineers and Technicians are currently working in this Department, they are not satisfied with the current job There is a lack of knowledge sharing between team members Especially, lack of technical training and machine problem solving experience sharing So that they don’t have enough experience for operation and machine troubleshooting

Knowledge sharing is a very important factor in the organization In the Testing and Product Department, there is a lot of information and knowledge about machine troubleshooting, testing and release This knowledge needs to be transferred properly between team members So that new people join the team will have enough information to save time for their activities

Mr Huy, Team leader of Maintenance and Mr Bao Department Manager said that

“The performance of staff in the Department decreases because of low motivation in the team They are not satisfied with their current job” The ratio of delivery testing on time decreases, increases the number of testing delays, increases machine downtime and increases internal customer complaints Duc and Thanh said that “When I first joined the company As a new member, I didn’t understand much of the system Other engineers didn’t share knowledge I don’t like that” Mr Tu said” I lack experience in troubleshooting,

so it took me time to solve a problem There is a lack of an experience sharing system within the team I was not satisfied with that”

Doing more face-to-face interviews with internal customer, Ms Loan revealed that

“Production spends more effort to push up the testing progress to catch up to the deadline” There some product types can be tested in Vietnam and some product types need to be sent

to the Netherlands for support testing When tests in Vietnam have potential delay, they will ask support from the Netherland factory also, with low performance in the Testing Department in Vietnam, increase the test support to Netherland then increase the production cost

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Turn over intension are attitude of individual toward the decision to stay or leave the organization (20) Knowledge is considered as a form of information, know-how or know-why to give contend about knowledge of a process, product, technical instruction,… (21) Knowledge sharing also influences job satisfaction and turn over intension (22) In recent years, the concept of knowledge in organizations has become increasingly popular in the literature (23), with knowledge being recognized as the most important resource of organizations (24) Although knowledge has always been an important factor in organizations, only in the last decade has it been considered the primary source of competitive advantage (25) and critical to the long-term sustainability and success of

organizations (26)

2.3 Main problem validation

The main problem could be concluded from above potential problem analysis and during the interview Investigating the potential problem of poor compensation and benefits, Mr Bao said that “pay and benefits are included in company policy and decided by the Board

of Directors” It is hard to change this because it also affects company budget planning and benefits This cannot be changed by lower levels Furthermore, this topic was already discussed many times during the interview, the candidate also considers carefully before they accept the position Therefore, poor compensation and benefits is not the current problem to focus on” Final round of the interview is usually for salary and benefits discussion between potential employee and employer Candidates have enough time to carefully consider the offer before accepting it Salary and payment are defined top down

by management, so it is very hard to change it

Analyzing the potential problem of lack of knowledge sharing, which included lacking

of technical knowledge sharing, machine operation knowhow, and troubleshooting experience and lesson learnt Mr Huy mentioned that the team is building up the knowhow sharing program to share knowledge between team members Through this program, the

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basic knowledge of machine was summarized and stored in a folder The lesson learnt and experience for problem solving are also stored here Training classes are also applied for new members or old member but aim to refresh their knowledge The link of these documents is shared to team for reference when needed So that they can easily access these knowledges In conclusion, low job satisfaction is also not a critical problem to focus at present

After considering all potential problems, the problem of low promotion opportunities is the main issue needed to focus After interviews with Management, team leaders, team members and ex-employees, the problem is critical to solve now to reduce the turnover rate

of the Department If we do not solve this problem, more people will leave the company, new members will join but lack knowledge and experience with the current system and processes The consequence of this problem is quite big, not only will the KPI to meet customer delivery on time will be lost, but also increase customer complaints

Employee Promotion refers to higher movement of an employee from the present position to another, one with increased responsibilities, pay, status and prestige Promotion opportunities is one of the main reasons the employee considers when working in an organization There are many chances for employees to find a job with good promotion opportunities The theory of management in the past has highlighted the importance of promotion opportunities for improving employee performance (27) To maintain the talent workforce, the organization needs to consider to offer further development chances in the company or reward as a promotion (28) The support by the organization for development and career opportunities will benefit the company for increasing employee performance and decreasing turnover rate (29) Individual will respect the organization when they receive support from them, employees when receive low support will leave the organization (30) Influencing by external opportunities and lack of advancement change internally causes employee intention to quite the current job (31) Employee development is one of the significant factors motivating workforce (32) Training effect on employee productivity

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(33) Career growth of employees in an organizational could be captured by four factors: career goal progress, the current related level of an employee and opportunities for one to realize their career goals; professional development ability, enables employees to acquire new skills and knowledge; promotion speed, a perceptions of employee about promotion; and remuneration growth, the speed, a perceptions of employee about promotion; and remuneration growth, the speed, amount, and likelihood of increases in compensation(34) These concepts show that career growth is not only employees’ efforts to create progress for their goal to achieve new skills and knowledge but also the efforts of organization rewarding and salary increase (35)

Figure 10: Updated map

2.4 Main problem definition and consequences

2.4.1 Main problem definition

Employee promotion opportunities are the chances employees have to improve from

one position to a higher position or level in an organization Promotion opportunities is one

of the main reasons the employee considers when choosing a company to work for In the job market nowadays, there are many opportunities for a person to find a job with good promotion opportunities Some study in the past how the relation between promotion and working performance (27) To retain talented employees, the company needs to consider

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further development opportunities in the company or offer a promotion (28) The support

by the organization for development and career opportunities will help the company maintain the productivity and reduce cost

Internal employee promotion has been affected by different factors such as organizational mission, vision, core values, policy and procedure, reward system, criteria

of performance evaluation, working environment, personal biases, labor law, job satisfaction and the availability and diversity of human resource with required skill and knowledge (36)

There are the types of promotion including (Horizontal Promotion, Vertical Promotion, Dry Promotion, Open and Closed Promotion) (62)

Horizontal Promotion:

This type promotes employees with an increase in payment but little change in their responsibilities For example, the move from Software Engineer to Senior software Engineer

Vertical Promotion:

This is a move of employees with changing skills and experience It helps a change in responsibilities, salary, benefits, etc For example, the move from team leader to department manager It can also change the nature of the job

Dry Promotion:

This is an increase in responsibilities without the benefits So that no increase in pay

or benefits Example, the change in number of responsibilities

Open and Closed Promotion:

Closed Promotion is only selected team members are eligible for a promotion Open Promotion is every individual of that organization is eligible for the position

2.4.2 Consequences of the main problem

Low promotion opportunities cause high turnover rates for the Department, then some consequences are figured out It is costly for the organization including financial cost and

of new hires The organization needs to spend money for advertising the vacant position, then cost for recruitment process by internal company or external headhunt After the recruitment is the cost for training new employees Another cost is for loss of productivity This cost happens when the employee leaves the company, there are no more products or performances produced by them Another cost can be considered as inefficiency of the new staff These costs have been estimated to range from thirty percent to as high as four hundred percent of a single employee’s annual salary, depending on the industry and job role being filled (40)

The consequences of high turnover not only for financial but also for non-financial This is intangible costs and difficult to estimate such as time and effort to archive the loss target productivities, workload impact and team performance disruption When employees leave the department, the manager has to spend time and effort to arrange the tasks in the team Some people can receive more tasks and overload These efforts aim to achieve the target of the department The other costs may have entail large negative impacts on organizational effectiveness such as loss of customer, business and damaged morale (41)

Internal employee promotion has been affected by different factors such as organizational mission, vision, core values, policy and procedure, reward system, criteria

of performance evaluation, working environment, personal biases, labour law, job satisfaction and the availability and diversity of human resource with required skill and knowledge (36)

Performance Appraisal process evaluates employees’ characteristics, capabilities, qualifications, and characteristics for promotional purposes Promotional policy or career plan is a career development path for an employee in their profession It gives a clear career structure, which will motivate, attract, and retain suitably qualified administrative personnel

in the Civil Service, Seniority refers to the relative length of service of employees It may

be determined in relation to age, occupation, department or organization of an employee (43)

Unclear job leveling matrix:

Job leveling matrix is a combination between job levels and competencies in one view During career conversations between employee and manager, job level and competencies when combine together in a matrix can helps manager understand more about the status and better input for their report It is easy to visualize when combine competencies list in a row and jobs level in columns The intersection between row and column is

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information about the requirement of what need employee to have, which training is needed

Below is an example of job leveling matrix for software Engineer position The row

is the list competencies list such as ownership, communication, technical ability The column is the job level such as Engineer 1, 2 and principal engineer The intersection will show the characteristic and requirement of each competency at a certain level

Figure 11: Example of job leveling matrix: Source: (63)

Job leveling

Job leveling is job classification, which used by HR professionals to define job roles, develop career goal, and establish hierarchies map within an organization For example, job leveling of a project manager might look like:

Level 1: Project manager

Level 2: Senior Project Manager

Level 3: Project manager specialist

Level 4: Project manager expert

Sehr Charania warn that If you’re expecting your company to grow in the coming year, now is the time to implement levels “If you don’t have job titles buttoned up or your job leveling is not systematic, it creates a situation where employees feel less than engaged (64)

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Career competencies matrix (CptM):

Job competencies are skills or qualities and requirements that employees need to have to succeed in their position Competencies are very important for managers, because they refer to this for performance reviews, giving feedback, or delegating tasks

Competencies are considered as a framework to help employees to focus on things that are most important for their success Competencies are also used for selecting and developing talent, and, when done well, they provide clarity for employees and managers.Each role’s list of competencies should be succinct while reflecting on what matters most

to that specific job (65)

3.2.2 Ineffective performance appraisal:

Performance appraisal is the activity in an organization to evaluate the employees’ performance via their characteristics, qualifications, traits, capabilities, and ability for the purpose of taking promotional decisions and documented form at period of time (45) This

is an important component of a fair and ethical evaluation for performance of employees (46) It is an extensively used formal assessment tool in major organizations to assess the employees’ performance in order to achieve In some studies performance appraisal is considered as a base for employee’s promotion (44) Information collected from performance appraisal review will be used for internal employee individuals for improvement and training Most organizations apply performance appraisal to develop their Performance appraisal usually conducted by employee and their direct manager, during the review session the strength and weakness of the employee was identified High performance employees will have the reward, however employees with not good performance will have a chance to improve their performance by attending the required training

The appraisal process can increase employee motivation and productivity, growth and development Lack of appraisal process may lead to lack of growth and development opportunities Performance appraisal systems will have a strong motivational impact on the

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staff if they are well-designed and well-implemented, the effective appraisal systems motivate staff to perform better Via effective appraisals, high performance employees can prove that they are valued Well communication between managers and employees can help them be aware of how their performance compares with company’s requirements and what skill and knowledge they need training (47) In addition, companies can make decisions for promotions, compensations or offer rewards Employees are encouraged to have good cooperation with the company to archive a good result (48)

3.2 Real cause validation

Unclear job leveling matrix

The job leveling at BSC includes levels which are called grades The lowest grade

is 44, 45 applied for operators and technicians who have a high school or college degree The maximum they can increase is 55 if they don’t update their degree to Bachelor or higher

to become an Engineer The higher grade is 66 applied for university fresh graduates with Bachelor degree and working as an Engineer These Engineers can work for 3 to 4 years to

be promoted to next grade 77 or called senior Engineer The next development is grade 88 when a senior Engineer is promoted to a team leader or an Expert position in a certain field such as quality expert, Project Manager, Problem solving expert, etc,

The job leveling at the Test and Product Department does not really follow the general rule of BSC Vietnam There are not any official documents to show clearly the levels for all positions in the Department They also don’t have clear characteristics and definitions for each level So, employees don’t know what requirements and skill set they need to have if they want to be promoted to a higher level

According to Mr Dien, senior maintenance engineer, who has nearly 10 years working in this Department said that “I have been working here around 10 years I don’t know how they define and apply job level We don’t have any document to state how many jobs are in the department Currently, I’m not clear about my future career goal Many people left the Department because of this reason”