Creating an HR Program for HAFTO Inc. to Move Forward After Merger

Overview of HR Program

Task:

In mind – to help move the company forward. The program must help the company come together past its recent merger, and help it move its strategic objectives forward – to be the best IT security organization. The program can be in any area, provided it meets that objective. Your budget is up to $250,000, if you need cash. Before you roll out the program to your employees, you are asked to present to the senior management team and the board of directors of the company. As you know your company HAFTO INC. has gone through a lot of change recently. The company merged with a smaller, closely held private company (BCage). Their employees were used to a very hierarchical structure and you find that though they are very skilled in their roles, they are reluctant to do anything without a detailed plan. They are all "“boomer” age and have worked there forever.
This contrasts with HAFTO in many ways. HAFTO was a tech start-up that found success early on but needs constant “fuel”. Employees don’t work for HAFTO very long and you spend a lot of time hiring and terminating employees if they don’t work out. You’ve done some thinking about why that is and have come to the conclusion that there might be several reasons. Could be the age of the hires, and their work characteristics. Could be burnout – long hours are required. Could be the pay and the compensation structure. A lot of HAFTO work is done in teams, and the superstars don’t like that. Some companies are always offering more. Could be a lot of things.

Some other facts:

The company has a health and dental plan providing 100% coverage that is paid for by the company. There is also a group insurance and disability insurance plan. The company is not looking to make changes in these areas but would like to see some innovative thinking on your part in other areas, including total rewards that will give them the lift they need to move forward from the mergerand/or address some of the other issues.Here are some guidelines for the report and presentation to the senior management team:

• Provide an overview of the HR program you plan to create and rollout. Be specific about the area that you are going to be targeting.

• Are there any legal considerations you must consider before implementing the program? Are there other considerations?

• Are there any risks to the company as a result of the program? If there are, how will they be managed?

• What are the benefits of the program? How will the benefit be measured?

• How much will it cost the company to create and rollout the HR program?

• Discuss proactive measures that can be taken to manage the HR program on an ongoing basis, after its rollout.

• What role will the HR team play before, during and after the rollout?

• How will you introduce the program to existing employees? To new hires? To management?

• How will you evaluate success? What would failure look like?

• How will you handle any resistance to the new program from employees?

• What does communication of the program look like?