Developing a Transformational Business Plan for Occupational Health and Safety at Yourway Energy Ser

Challenges faced by HR department

As stated in our text book, most organizations are facing six main competitive challenges that human resources departments must be aware of and work to address.

(1) Globalization,

(2) Embracing new technology,

(3) Managing change,

(4) Developing human capital,

(5) Responding to the market, and

(6) Containing costs.

Addressing these challenges often requires transformational change which, in turn, can involve the entire workforce.

Human Resources plays a key strategic role in organizations “helping to build the strongest team and culture possible to meet organizational goals and create a sustainable advantage”.  Increasingly HR is asked to lead major change initiatives for the organization. Major change initiatives can be associated with areas such as; improving organizational culture, performance management, employee engagement, employee development, diversity, health and wellness and total rewards. These initiatives can be transformational for an organization and often involve significant investments and impact every person in the organization.

To be effective Human Resource professionals must work closely with senior management (board members, executive/senior leaders) to educate, inspire, influence and gain full and complete “buy in” to the importance of these key strategic or transformational initiatives. As we discovered in HR I, HR professionals must be effective leading change and understanding business needs as well as HR practices.

This assignment will allow you to develop and communicate a transformational business plan for a major strategic HR initiative. Once the plan is developed you will submit your business plan to your Executive Team. The Executive Team must then decide on whether the initiative should be one of the major strategic investments and goals over the next three years.

You work as an HR consultant for a fairly large energy services organization based in Alberta, Canada with approximately 1,000 employees. The company is called Yourway Energy Services (YES). Note:  this is a fictional name and company.  The company has traditionally focused on exploration and development of fossil-based fuels (natural gas and oil) and recently has shifted and expanded into renewal energy (solar and wind). The company is changing dramatically, and this has put pressure on all staff to learn new jobs/technologies/markets or leave the organization if they are not able to adapt. Stress leaves and mental health issues have doubled in the past two years and accidents and sick leave are well above industry averages.

Yourway Energy Solutions (YES) has traditionally focused on physical safety and injury prevention on the job sites. Their approach could be described as more as “minimal compliance” or “reactive vs. proactive” and they have not invested more than needed to comply with laws and regulations. All they have invested in is basic safety and first aid training, hazardous waste handling and procedures if an injury occurs on the job site. There has been little to no training for office workers or to deal with mental health issues and addictions. With the recent growth and change to renewal energy the workforce has expanded and at the same time the incidents per 100 employees of health and safety related issues has grown.

Major change initiatives and their impact on an organization

As an example, in the last year YES experienced 4 accident related injuries per 100 employees, with an average of 17 days off work per incident. That was 25% higher than the previous five-year average.  An average of 7 sick days per employee per year this was 33% higher than previous year averages. Stress leaves have doubled over the past three years • Workers Compensation Insurance rates increased by 25% over two years due to the increased number of accidents.

Fortunately, no fatalities had occurred at YES in the past 5 years, however, the Executive Team and Board of Directors were getting very concerned about these trends and the increasing costs. They were also noticing that their reputation as an employer was being hurt as they tried to attract new employees. One law suit had been filed against the company by an injured worker and overall staff turnover was increasing and morale was low. They felt as an organization they were too “reactive vs. proactive” in terms of health and wellness and that their programs were out of date and out of touch with other leading companies.

Once again, you work as an HR Consultant at YES supporting a number of managers and teams at YES. You have been asked to lead this “special assignment” and a team that will develop a business plan to transform Occupational Health and Safety practices at YES.

YES wants to become a leader in this area and significantly reduce safety incidents and costs. They want to better support employees and their families.

The Executive feel this could be a good investment, however, there must also be a positive business case and tangible benefits associated with the investment/new ongoing costs. The company has other investment priorities and not everyone on the Executive Team feels this is a high priority unless the benefits can be substantiated and measured.

The Business Plan Document is your major deliverable and should be comprehensive in nature, well researched, professional, compelling/audience focused and follow standards for effective business communication (e.g. clear, concise, PAIBOC addressed/considered).

Cover page, table of contents, executive summary, organizational description and situation review, environmental review and key trends in health and wellness, review of best practices and performance benchmarks in health and wellness, key findings, conclusions and recommendations for YES, overall implementation plan (project structure, dates/deliverables, accountable/responsible resources, key risks and mitigation plan), change/communication plan, measurement and metrics for the project, references and research sources (in text and reference page).

The project budget should include costs and benefits of the change and the return on investment. The plan would also include steps required to gain approval and start the initiative.

Additional sections and appendices can be added to strengthen your business plan.