Workforce Planning At British Gas: HR Management Essay.

Read a Case Study base on Workforce planning at British Gas.

According to an article by Trudy Brunot (2017), Functional Human Resource Management is the glue that holds an organisation together and the functional management areas are the ingredients in the glue. Hence, a functional HR department should cover six functional areas: business management and strategy, workforce planning and employment, human resource development, compensation and benefits, employee relations and risk management

You have just been appointed as an interim HR consultant by British Gas. With reference to the above statement and your knowledge of HR management and functions as well as information from the given case scenario, prepare a report to the Executive Board of British Gas to suggest how a functional HR department can address the current HR issues faced by the organisation. Your report should cover the following tasks: 

Identify any two people management issues being encountered by British Gas in the case study and discuss how a functional HR department can proactively manage them effectively.

Briefly outline with examples how a functional HR department within British gas can successfully implement a viable HR planning process to manage its growing international staff problems as it is gradually becoming global. You may refer to other current international issues faced by British Gas.

Considering the employee wellbeing issue in the case study, discuss one developmental activity a functional HR department within British Gas can implement to effectively improve employees’ performance so that it can retain its employees.

Discuss the implication of employment legislation on you or your workmates from the current practices of the organisation you work within any two of the following areas:

1. Equalityand diversity
2. Rewardsand compensation
3. Healthand Safety standard across the subsidiaries
4. Disciplinaryprocedures

Task 1: People management issues at British Gas and HR management solutions

Human Resource Management refers to strategic approach that helps in managing the people effectively within an organization. It helps a business in gaining competitive advantage. British Gas is a part of Centrica Group and it is an energy brand that is best recognized in the country. The multinational company Centrica has business in various countries . The report discusses about the management issues that are faced by the company and how the functional HR department can help in effectively managing organisation. It also talks about how British Gas can manage the international staff problems in the event of going global. The report also talks about development activity that can help British Gas in improving the performance of employees in an organisation. The report also elaborates on the effect of employment legislation on the employees working in the organization.

The people management issue that is being faced by British Gas pertains to the employees leaving the organization that is having negative influence on the performance of the organization. British Gas needs staff of high calibre who can maintain the central heating along with gas appliances. It would require highly skilled workers who can effectively help the organisation in reaching its aim. The employee turnover has reduced the productivity of the employees at British Gas and it has increased the workload of the other employees in the organization. It has drained the talent in British Gas that has brought down the performance of the employees in the organization. The highly skilled staff employees of British Gas are leaving the organization and it has left behind the workers who cannot carry out the job responsibilities of the organization. As per the case study it can be said that experience is an important aspect in relation to technical work and the leaving of the employees who are experience will have a debilitating influence on the growth of the organization. Another people management issue that is being faced in the organization pertains to the selection of employees who do not have the skills and the expertise of carrying out the job functions in the company. According to the case study, the employees at British Gas lack in relation to soft skills along with technical skills that has a detrimental effect on the performance of employees at British Gas. The dearth of these skills will have a negative effect on the employees working in the organization.

The functional HR department of British Gas can make use of compensation along with benefit that can help in the retention of the best employees on the organization. The employees who perform well at British Gas should be provided with bonus along with incentives that can help in the growth of an organization. The incentives should be provided on monthly basis that can help in improving the overall performance of the employees working in the organization. Additional bonus can be paid to the employees of British Gas in the event of completion of project within that of stipulated timeframe. The employees in an energy company needs soft skills, transferable skills and technical skills that can help them in delivering effective performance within organization. On the basis of case study, it can be said that there are people from different kinds of culture in British Gas and the training given on soft skills can help in the aspect of effective communication along with dispute resolution in the organization. The project planning skills should be engrained in the workers of British Gas that can help them in providing solutions to the problems rising in the organization. The transferable skills would be able to improve the overall performance of the employees working in the organization. The employees of British Gas should be provided with training that focuses on these three aspects that can help them in delivery of performance in the organization. A training needs assessment should be implemented by the functional HR Department of British gas that can help in the establishment of strategic training plan for British Gas.

Task 2: Planning for the international staff problems event of British Gas going global

British Gas is facing international staff problems in the event of going global. The functional HR Department of British Gas can implement HR planning process that can help it in managing the problems. The international issue being faced by British Gas pertains to the challenges owing to the event of globalization. The employees of British Gas are not able to understand the foreign culture that is acting like a barrier and preventing it from penetrating the new markets. The employees are not being to understand the international market along with culture and this is acting like a barrier in in the path of progress of organization. The intervention of government in the various economies of world has paved the way for uncertainty within that of the global marketplace . The HR within British Gas can take recourse to cultural awareness programs that can be useful in making the employees recognize regarding the benefits of diversity. It can help the organisation in thinking about better ideas that can help in bringing about innovation in British Gas. It can help the organization in reaching out to a wider audience. The team building activities can also help in integrating the employees of the various cultures towards that of a common business objective. British Gas should foster culture pertaining to continuous learning that can that can help the business in staying competitive within the global environment. Learning Management System can be used by the HR of British Gas that can help them in training the employees that can help them in successfully adjusting in the international domain. Online training can be provided to the employees in the home country along with the employees who are in the foreign locations which can help the employees in adjusting to the cultural milieu in the foreign countries and enriching the skills of the employees of British Gas.

The composition of the workforce is becoming more diverse in the present era and this is giving rise to challenges for the company called British Gas. The diverse workforce has given rise to problems like harassment along with discrimination in British Gas. The company should implement strict rules along with guidelines that can help the company in successfully managing the issues in the international arena. Globalisation has paved the path for restructuring in the political along with economical systems in the world. It is important the employees of British Gas should be made comfortable with the abstract concepts along with uncertain situations that can help the company in surviving within the competitive environment . The employees of British Gas should be capable of seeking out the problems and they should be able to gather necessary information and also make the decisions on the basis of the uncertain realities. The employees in British Gas should be equipped with holistic understanding in relation to systems thinking which can help the company in the event of survival. It can be helpful for the company in solving the global issues that can arise in the present era. Technical Skills Development Training should be provided to the employees of British Gas that is an energy brand that can be of great  help in the aspect of developing of the resources that can help the organisation in expanding in the international countries. It can help them in solving the international issue that can arise in the company owing to globalisation. Technical Skills training can be said to be fundamental in relation to employee education and it can help the employees of British Gas who are in the foreign countries in solving issues related to technical skills .

Task 3: Effective HR practices and performance management for employee retention at British Gas

A developmental activity can be implemented in British Gas that can improve the performance of the employees. It can also prove to be useful in retaining the employees in the organization that can overall increase the profits made by the organization. The functional HR department of British Gas can take recourse to developmental activities that can augment performance of employees in organization. In-house training program can be taken recourse to by the HR of British Gas that can equip the employees of the organization with requisite amount of skills that can prove to be beneficial for the employees. The in-house training program should focus on the aspect of data analytics that can help in the aspect of collecting and understanding large amount of information that can pave the way for success of organization . The energy market within UK can be said to be dynamic and in the event of the company not being able to deliver on the basis of expectations of the customers, the company would suffer in the long run. In-house training program can be useful in providing the customers with the right kind of customer service that can lead to organizational success. The in-house training program should focus on the aspect of creative solutions that can help the employees in adjusting to the changes taking place in the world environment. The traditional process may not be sufficient in the present age in solving the issues that can arise in the energy company. The in-house training program implemented by HR Department of British Gas should be able to build on the imagination of employees of British Gas that can help the employees in relation to problem solving. The training programs would be able to teach the employees about risk-taking that can help the employees in learning new skills that can augment their professional growth. The non-traditional assessment model can be used at the time of training which can help in providing the employees with the feasible solutions that can work for benefit of employees in organization. It can be said that change will occur in the modern world and the training programs will be able to teach the employees regarding the mode of thinking that can help the organization in attaining success . The in-house training program would also train the employees about safety that is crucial in the case of energy companies. The training would teach the employees about personal protective equipment along with material handling that is of great significance for the employees working in British Gas. The training should teach the employees about trouble-shooting that can come to be of great use for the employees of organization . The training can teach the employees about Solar Home along with Street Lighting that can come to be of use for the employees in an organization.

The functional skills should be taught to the employees that can help in teaching practical skills to the employees of British Gas. It can allow the individuals in the organization in completion of the energy efficient assessment that can prove to be useful for employees of the organization. The in-house training program can teach the employees about project planning along with understanding of the aspect of energy use. It can help the employees in the identification of potential opportunities that can help the employees in thinking in thinking in a strategic manner(10). It would be able to help the employees in assessing the business case for the implementation of opportunities related to energy efficiency. The training program would focus on monitoring along with investigation that can help the company in developing analysis systems.

Task 4: Implications of employment legislation on HR practices at British Gas

The employment legislations states that proper attention should be laid on the aspect of wellness of the employees so that they can work without any kind of interruption. The employment legislations helps in governing the relation between the employee and the employer within the ambit of an organisation. The Employment and Labour Law 2018 in UK states that the national minimum wage that should be given to the employees is 7.50 pound in an hour and the maximum working week is around 48 hours that applies to most of the employees in the various organizations of UK . Reward along with compensation are crucial factors that helps in attracting and engaging the employees in an organization. There are various options that are available for the organisations in rewarding the staff. It helps in recognising the contribution of the employees and the effective reward packages are aligned with the needs of the staff in an organization. There are many states in UK that have enacted the compensation statutes of the workers that requires the private employers in UK to carry out the compensation insurance of the workers. The employees in British Gas are provided with compensation benefits that pertains to medical expenses, disability benefits and death benefits on the basis of Employment and Labour Law 2018.

Health and Safety at Work is the main legislation that is instrumental in covering health and the safety of the employees in UK. The British health and the safety law is based on Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Act helps in stating general duties that the employers have in relation to employees in an organization. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 helps in making explicit what the employers should do in managing the health along with safety of workers under that of Health and Safety at Work Act.

The HSW Act in UK places a great amount of responsibility on the people who are instrumental in creating risk. This is applicable in the event of risk maker being an employer or supplier of the articles. The risk maker has many duties that should be implemented for managing risk. The health along with the safety representations plays an important role in raising the standard of health in the organisations of UK. British Gas is an energy brand and accidents can at any tome occur in this organisation. It is of great importance that the organisation takes into account the labour laws prevailing in UK that can help the employees in working safety in the organisation . British Gas maintains the safety standard in the organisation that helps the employees in delivering effective performance in the organization. The organization is equipped with Safety & Health Department who works closely with the employees and ensures that the lives of the workers are not jeopardized in the organization. Safety meetings are held in the British Gas that makes the employees aware regarding the various safety precautions that have been implemented in the organization. The workers in British Gas being knowledge able about the safety practices in the organization can make full use of them that can help them in prevention of any kind of accident in the organization. The meetings are held in the organization from time to time that helps the employees in being aware regarding the safety laws in UK and how the employees can revolt in the case of violation of any of the laws. The policies along with procedures in British Gas are compliant with the regulatory requirements that helps in taking care of the employees in organization .

Conclusion

Human Resource Management is indicative of strategic approach that can be useful in regard to managing of people in the organization. The human resource management can help an organization in attaining competitive advantage that can help an organization in rising above competitors. British Gas forms part of that of Centrica Group that is greatly popular in UK. The company needs staff who have high calibre who helps in maintaining the central heating appliances. The company needs workers who are highly skilled who can help the organization in reaching its mission. Employee turnover has been instrumental in reducing productivity of employees that increases workload of the other employees in organization. It can be recommended that in-house training program should be provided to the employees of British Gas that can provide the employees with skills that can benefit employees. The program focussing on data analytics can help in collection of information that can create the way for organizational success. Employment Legislations highlight the fact that the employees in an organisation should be provided with the right kind of atmosphere that can help in building the proper relationship between the employee and the employer in British Gas.

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