Jack Nelson’s Problem

As a new member of the board of directors for a local bank, Jack Nelson was being introduced to all
the employees in the home office. When he was introduced to Ruth Johnson, he was curious about
her work and asked her what the machine she was using did. Johnson replied that she really did not
know what the machine was called or what it did. She explained that she had only been working
there for 2 months. However, she did know precisely how to operate the machine. According to her
supervisor, she was an excellent employee. At one of the branch offices, the supervisor in charge
spoke to Nelson confidentially, telling him that “something was wrong,” but she didn’t know what.
For one thing, she explained, employee turnover was too high, and no sooner had one employee
been up on the job than another one resigned. With customers to see and loans to be made, she
continued, she had little time to work with the new employees as they came and went. All branch
supervisors hired their own employees without communication with the home office or other
branches. When an opening developed, the supervisor tried to find a suitable employee to replace
the worker who had quit. After touring the 22 branches and finding similar problems in many of
them, Nelson wondered what the home office should do or what action he should take. The banking
firm generally was regarded as being a well-run institution that had grown from 27 to 191
employees during the past 8 years. The more he thought about the matter, the more puzzled Nelson
became. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the problem, and he didn’t know whether to report his
Findings to the president.

Questions:

1. What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s home office and
branches?

Since employee turnover is high, there definitely has to be a problem in the employees’
dissatisfaction with their work. The reasons for this dissatisfaction can range from a low salary to a
bad work environment. Furthermore, in one of the branch offices, the supervisor stated that “with
customers to see and loans to be made, she had little time to work with the new employees as they
came and went.” This means that training is inadequate, and the employees are less equipped with
the knowledge and expertise needed to be successful, which can lead to poor performance. Since
the employees seem to have the skills needed (Johnson precisely knew how to operate the machine,
but did not know the name of machine), the problem here comes from the administration’s inability
to help train the employees -not so much the employee’s lack of human capital.

2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?

Setting up an HR unit in the main office would definitely help. First of all, it can create a company-
wide set of standards for employees that would fulfill the needs of the firm. In the passage, it was
stated that employees are hired without communication with the home office or other branches.
This means that the lacks a universal definition of what is required from an employee - this
disorganization is detrimental to the company as a whole. With an HR unit standardizing the job
description and the qualifications needed from an employee, it could find better candidates, thus
lowering the turnover rate. The passage also states that supervisors did not have time to work with
new employees, and they mainly focused on replacing workers who quit. Having the HR unit could
also help retain the employees, and it would work to be that support system that would give the
employees the attention they need.

3. What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried
out by supervisors and other line managers? What role should the internet play in the new HR
organization?

The HR unit could be in charge of recruiting and lead the initial screening process. It could screen
through the resumes and even phone interviews. By upholding a standardized set of required
qualifications, it could weed out the employees that would not be a good fit for the company.

The candidates that make the first cut would then be given to the supervisors and line managers to
choose from through a second-round interview. This helps the supervisors because they seem to be
very busy (judging from the passage), and it would be more time-efficient with a smaller pool of
candidates to choose from. Another specific function the HR unit can carry out is a well-organized
training procedure or orientation that works to inform the newly hired employees of company
knowledge and insight of the company from a bigger picture. After the training, lines managers can
then fill the employees in on their specific roles. Here, the training serves to set a strong foundation
for the needed expertise.

In terms of the role of the internet, it can be that link that connects the different branches and
universalizes employee standards. This includes web pages on what is expected of an employee such
as moral conduct, company policies, and even overall knowledge of the company. The internet also
can be used as an outlet for training - online streaming or even teleconferencing would helpful ways
to serve as a medium for training. The internet can finally be used to find prospective candidates
with the emergence of social media, and HR can use it to gain maximum exposure to good
prospects.
ANOTHER SOLUTION

1. What do you think was causing some of the problems in the bank home office and branches?
2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? Why?
What specific functions should it carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by
supervisors and other line managers? What role should the technology play in the new HR
organization?

Employee Turnover:
Employee turnover means the measure that determines the number of new workers or employees
who are hired or replaces the other employees. It also determines how many employees left the job
or asked to quit the company.

Answer and Explanation:

Part 1
As it is evident that the employees were quitting their jobs in a very short span of time, the
employee turnover rate within the bank is very relatively high. The high rate of employee turnover
can be the result of employee dissatisfaction. This can be due to the low level of working
environment where the employees do not feel satisfied while working and the possibility of low
remuneration to them. Moreover, as per the situation, it is conclusive that the on-the-job training
was not provided to all the employees and as a result, they were unable to understand their work
properly. If the training and development procedure would have been done properly, then each
employee must be clear about their job profile.
Part 2
There seems to be an urgent need for the human resource (HR) department within the bank. The
role of HR serves as the purpose of the in-charge of all the employees recruited within the
organization. When the HR department will be set up at the home branch, the department will
create some policies and standards across the bank that will help the employees to fulfill their
needs. While standardizing the policies and procedures, the bank will be able to hire and recruit the
appropriate candidate for the right job with the appropriate qualification and thereby decreasing
employee turnover.
HR should start the hiring process with the screening process. This can be carried out by reviewing
the resumes of the candidates or by telephonic interviews. By setting up the standards and policies,
the company will be able to figure the appropriate candidate as per their requirement and
qualifications. After that, HR can schedule the interview process with the line manager for the
further recruitment process. HR can also carry out the on-job training and development process
after the selection of the candidates. After the training process, the line managers will align the
candidate as per the knowledge to the right job in order to increase productivity.
Technology is a vital factor in the banking industry. With the help of the internet and technology, the
home bank branch will be able to connect with other bank branches to schedule their workings.
Additionally, it helps the bank to centralize its business operations in order to provide real-time
services to the bank customers. Moreover, it will help the bank to automate some of the banking
operations to promote a fast working process across the bank.

ANOTHER SOLUTION

Questions:

1. What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s home office and branches?

There are three problems that caused the problems in the bank:

Firstly: The lack of training for employees Johnson did not know what the machine that she was
using was called or what it did, although she used it for two months. Organization did not oriented
and trained her properly, if organization trained her well, Johnson will clear about her job and
responsibility.

Secondly: There is a lack of communication between the home office and the branches and among
supervisors and employees. The branch office hired employees without communication with their
home office (there was no standardization of the recruitment process in the organization) The
employee turnover was high during the past eight years, as a result, the supervisor tried to find a
suitable employee to replace the worker who had quit without any standardization or rules to
recruitment.

Thirdly: the bank home office does not have the human resources department which can reduce
the issues regarding employees among the branches and home office.

2. Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help?

Setting up an HR unit at the main office is definitely helpful. Where the main purpose of why HR
department is available in a company is because they are in charge of all employees by recruiting,
provide training, appraising and compensating them With an HR unit standardizing the job
description and the qualifications needed from an employee, it could find better candidates, thus
lowering the turnover rate.

3. What specific functions should an HR unit carry out?

What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors and other line managers? What role
should the Internet play in the new HR organization?

Specific functions should an HR unit carry out are given below:

- Job analysis
- Planning employee needs and recruiting
- Providing advising and training programs in the selection process
- Orientation of new employees
- Manage wage and salary administration
- Managing incentives and benefits
- Providing and managing the performance appraisal process
- Organization communications

Supervisors and other line managers should carry out the functions given below:
- Interviewing and selection of job candidates
- Training new employees
- Appraising performance
- Departmental and personal communications
- Development the employees skills

In terms of the role of the internet

- It can be that link that connects the different branches and universalizes employee standards. -
Also can be used as an outlet for training - online streaming or even teleconferencing would helpful
ways to serve as a medium for training