For this project you are asked to develop an HR plan/review/audit. You can think of this as preparing for a new business you want to start, or a review of the business you currently work, or a review of a friend's business or as a consulting helping someone else's business. The outline at the end of this description provides you the headings and an example of a table.
Write the narrative and lists under each heading with sufficient detail and specificity that anyone who reads this can work with the document without you and make the HR function work well.
This project will assist you with the business plan you will need to assemble in the BMBA661 Business Plan & Launch course. Therefore it has added value for you beyond this course.
Note that this project is scored using the 'Major Project Rubric (not QEP)'. Please click on the underlined 'Major Project' heading above and review the rubric so that you know how the project will be scored.
The syllabus says that you have 12 hours to complete this project. In addition you have 2 hours of reading available from the 'study' section. Use the reading to research information to assist you with this project.
The length of the document will vary from student to student with an 'average' length estimated at 12 pages single-spaced. Bullet-point lists are acceptable where appropriate to present your points.
The Human Resource Management Plan
Bill Gates has said that Microsoft, which employees 22,000, would become an unimportant company if it lost its 20 best people. That's why you need to address the issue of how you will attract and retain key employees in any enterprise.
The things that make employees want to come to work for you and stay vary from business to business. Bottom line, however, choosing an employer is a highly personal decision. That's why it's crucial to understand the individual needs of your key employees so that you can give them exactly what they want. If you only offer a higher salary to an employee whose most important concern is that she work at a job offering flexible hours so she can care for an elderly parent, then you probably won't retain that employee.
Here are some of the commonly overlooked areas in a human resource management plan that actually drive a person's employment decision:
¨ Salary or hourly compensation - While the business may be your 'baby,' and you may be willing to work for sweat equity, your first employee will the business as a paycheck. That means you will have to consider how you will pay them.
¨ Method of compensation payment - will the employee be on payroll, or will you contract with the employee. You need to know the pros and cons of both from the perspective of your business and the employee's perspective as well
¨ Benefits - Paid holidays and sick leave, health insurance and retirement plans such as a 401(d) are among the key benefits most often listed as desirable by employees.
¨ Compensation - Salary bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and auto mileage allowances are among the most important compensation issues to employees.
¨ Work location - Does the employee have to work in an office, or can he or she work from home and 'telecommute' to the office, thereby saving wear and tear on automobiles, and providing greater flexibility in work hours.
¨ Miscellaneous - On-site child care, flexible work hours, paid memberships to business groups, and a personal day off on birthdays are important considerations as well.
The Human Resource Management section of your business plan should consider and address all of the above issues and describe the inducements you will offer key employees to encourage them to stay. It is also important to explain at what point in time certain HR things can occur. For example, you may have to start someone at an hourly rate when the business first starts, but you may be able to switch them to a salary in nine months after sales reach a certain level. In a small company, an investor is likely to be very leery of a plan that appears to be based on the capabilities of a handful of employees unless the business owner has clearly given a lot of thought to keeping these important workers on board.
The list of employee needs may be comprehensive depending upon the complexity of your business, and the level of technical skills required. Employee needs are as complex as humanity itself. One worker may stay because she likes the view out her window on a high floor; someone in an identical office may leave because heights make them nervous. To keep employees motivated and interested, you may want to include an ongoing environment of learning, challenge, and advancement. If your employees can grow as your company does, then they're more likely to stay.
The Management Team Section of your Business Plan
Georges Doriot, the father of venture capital and founder of American Research and Development Corporation (the first modern-day venture capital firm), said that he would rather 'back an 'A' entrepreneur with a 'B' idea than a 'B' entrepreneur with an 'A' idea.' He reasoned that an A team would more easily mold and reshape a B idea into a winning opportunity than a B team could execute an A idea.
The management team section of the business plan is often the section that professional investors read after the executive summary. Thus, it is critical that the plan depict the members responsible for key activities and convey that they are exceptional people with integrity, knowledge, and skills.
The business planning process will help you identify what gaps exist on your team. It is rare that a founding entrepreneur has all the competencies needed to launch a successful business. Research suggests that ventures launched by teams are more likely to become sustainable businesses than those launched by individuals.For a start up venture, as an example, many sharp businesspeople can identify a customer need, but don't have the technology background to build a prototype. In these situations, it makes sense to recruit a co-founder-someone who complements your skill set so that together you can fill the gaps on the team.
For a start up venture, in most cases, you cannot have a complete team right from the start. It would drain too much cash (presuming you pay them). You need to be strategic and think about the two to five key people you will need to succeed. You also have to anticipate when you will need them. When building your core founding team, identify people that can multitask and are willing to take on lots of duties. Considering how important the team is to your company's success, you need to present the power of your team as effectively as possible. Provide an introductory paragraph that talks about how the team came together. The subsequent subsections will provide the detail that connects the teams' skills with the requirements of the business opportunity.
However, if this is a mature business you may well have all the key people in the right positions.
It is best to start by identifying the founding team members and their titles. The key is to convince investors that you have assembled the best team possible and that your team can execute on the brilliant concept you are proposing.
Once responsibilities and titles have been defined, names and a short bio should be filled in. The bios should demonstrate records of success. Draw upon your experience and discuss your achievements. Biographies should demonstrate leadership capabilities.
Sections of the Human Resource Management Plan
1. Description of the business
2. Statement of values for the organization
a. Vision statement
b. Mission statement
3. Code of ethics for the business
4. Locations of the business
5. Specific location that this plan document relates to
6. Product/service that this plan document relates to (useful if multiple product/service divisions exist)
7. Position and skill set summary table (fill in key information below)
Type of Emp
Functions
Knowledge
Skills
Abilities
Senior executive (CEO, VP, etc)
Senior manager
Mid-level manager
Senior supervisor
Staff support
Production technician
8. Add additional details and descriptions to the information in the table above to create a position description for each type of employee position identified.
9. List the compensation and benefits you will offer to each type of employee identified in the table above.
10. Provide details as to the principles and practices you will use to find, select, hire, orient, train, develop, motivate, and retain qualified employees
11. Privacy rules. Describe any legislation to which your business must adhere, and/or explain how you maintain privacy for both employees and the business.
12. Safety rules. Describe any legislation (e.g., OSHA) to which your business must adhere, and/or explain how you intend to keep employees safe and provide a safe environment for them to work in.
13. Compensation principles. Explain how you intend to go about determining compensation.
14. Principles used to avoid discrimination. Explain how you intend to watch and monitor for disparate treatment and disparate impact.
15. Principles for employee performance review and correction/discipline. Explain the process you will use for employee performance reviews.
16. For USA-based business, explain how you intend to make reasonable accommodation for an employee in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
17. Develop an organization chart and show the number of employees where more than one exists and the reporting relationships.
18. Develop an annual payroll budget presuming 12 months of salary for exempt employees, 52 weeks payroll at 40 hours for hourly employees (using 2080 hours in one work year). Use the current benefit/taxes the firm has to pay for the location (country/state/city). For the USA this includes FICA, Medicare, unemployment taxes. If you pay a monthly allotment for clothing/uniform, medical insurance, life insurance, etc. please include these as line item expenses.
19. Create a Gantt Chart identifying when you intend to hire each person during the first year of operation (or during the next 12 months for an existing company).