PEARLINE CHARLOTTE P.

CASTILLO
MBA- 2001

Immediate Problem:

Safety risks in the company’s work environment are present and have not been dealt with accordingly.
Injuries and accidents have occurred in the company’s workplace and this may result to a loss of
productivity from the employees.

Root Cause of the Problem:

The Houghton Company have an inadequate and poorly organized training program. It has not
established the appropriate process and procedures in regularly training both current and new
employees.

There is a huge risk in letting newly hired employees perform a job without any knowledge background
about the product or the nature of the job. How can a company expect its newly hires to learn a job within
ten minutes and perform the job correctly without providing them a preparatory training? 

Currently Houghton does not even provide employee orientations to newly hired employees. No trainings
are being offered prior to on-boarding. The company only realized the importance of employee training
when the accident occurred.  While the company has some senior employees who help out new
employees, there is no formal process that has been given definition.

Alternative Solutions:

1.) Houghton should consider providing the newly hired employees an orientation where they will be given
a brief history of the company and the products and services it offers.

2.) The company should establish the necessary training program. This training should be given as early
as the first week of employment so employees can learn the company’s processes and procedures.
Training sessions should be conducted by a member of management or training department who is
engaging and familiar with the products, safety regulations, and government requirements. Training
sessions should include safety material -handling techniques, safety rules and regulations, lifting
procedures, and proper ways of installing products. 
This will enable employees to familiarize themselves with safety guidelines and the know-how of handling
the products they will be working with and give them an opportunity to raise questions. Upon onboarding,
employees should be endorsed to an experienced employee for a couple of days for the observation and
training period.

3.) The Houghton company must also provide a continuous mentorship program. A personal mentor is
ideally assigned to every new employee, who constantly advises and gives information concerning safety
measures to the new employees assigned to them.

Best Alternative Solution

Establish a training program to be led by an expert training manager. The company should also set-up a
training department. This group will implement onboarding process which will start with building a
comprehensive checklist of all tasks that must be completed before the new employee starts work, and
during their first ninety days of employment. The checklist is important to ensure that all new employees
receive the necessary information to transition into their new positions.