Assignment task: You have just graduated with your HAS degree and have been hired by Quality Home Care. The owner hasn't given you a written job description or even a title but has told you what he wants you to perform. "I started this company because I got tired of the bureaucracy at Mega Health System. We couldn't get anything done.
Even when it was obviously best for the patients and for the company, there was always some reason we couldn't move ahead: not in the budget, the lawyers have some concerns, not consistent with our core strategies, and on and on. Well, I started my own company, hand-picked the best staff members, offered them a little higher pay than they were getting from Mega and some basic benefits. It worked. Our patient volume grew another 25% last quarter and we expect that to continue. We're now up to 20 employees, and need more. I've had to hire some people I didn't know before. I don't have a management degree but I need to have all the administrative things done that they taught you how to do at your school.
The first thing I want you to do is organize all this Personnel stuff. Remember, I don't want a mega-bureaucracy here, I just want things organized so we can keep up with this growth!"
a. What are the main factors you would consider in establishing an overall Human Resources strategy for QHC?
b. List the titles of the first five HR policies you would recommend to the owner and the main concepts that would be covered by each policy.
Briefly explain to the owner why he needs a policy in each of these areas.
Do not write the full policy statements. Remember, he doesn't consider himself an administrator, he's extremely busy, and he hates bureaucracy- this needs to be concise, clear, and persuasive.