Effective People Management In Organizations: Case Study Of Winchester Homes

Importance of People Management

The idea of people management is being considered as a subset of the concept of Human Resource Management. It mainly deals with the financial, strategic and policy issues but at the same time is concerned with the management of the workforce as well. This particular term is used in an extensive manner during the time of organisational change. It is considered of primary importance to many organisations because the main intention to understand the importance of the employees and retain their loyalty for the organisation so that they can gain certain amount of benefits for the company. This report intends to cover the scenario of Winchester Homes and understand the importance of wellbeing of the staff in enhancing the performance of an organisation. The report would also evaluate and recommend appropriate techniques for identifying the employees’ skill set and to enhance their potential as well. It is also important to address the developmental methods used by the organisation for the betterment of the staff.

It has been cited by many that effective people management is highly essential and requires substantial amount of knowledge and cohesiveness among people to understand its implication on enhancing the performance of an organisation (Hoffmanand Tadelis, 2018). From the case study provided, it was evident that Winchester Homes lacked a certain amount of depth and consideration in their daily works. The management also fails to understand the needs and requirements of their employees resulting in most of them leaving the job or having to do extra hours at retail stores nearby their house. The idea of successful change processes entirely depends on the proper management of the people around the senior officials (Kuiperset al., 2014). It is also considered as one of the most important soft leadership skills. It has a tendency to directly influence productivity and make sure that the staffs are motivated throughout their tenure for the organisation (Feldman, 2018).

There are various discrepancies that exist in Winchester Homes. There is a lack of communication among the officials working at the various hierarchal levels, the carers do not have adequate amount of training to complete the job or are being provided with travel allowances. From the case study it can be evidently stated even the senior managers are not properly trained and that they do not even encourage the idea of training because of that. Most of the training provided is unpaid, thus, prompting the carers to go for some extra hours at retail store or any other convenient store. The new director appointed intends to improve the functioning of their home so that proper care of the residents can be taken. The ex-residents often complained about the discrepancies that the staff caused them and their ability in ensuring that the manager does not addresses such ideas.

If the employees are being managed properly and are provided with the kind of facilities they deserve, it is important that the people are treated properly from the management of the organisation. There are multiple flaws in the operations of the company indicating that they do not have the ability to take care of their employees or fulfil their basic needs. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, every human being or employee has five basic needs that is to be fulfilled by an organisation (Stoyanov, 2017). If Winchester Homes can fulfil the following five aspects for these employees, then they would be able to generate the loyalty of the customers for a longer duration.

Factors affecting staff performance and well-being at Winchester Homes

Self-Fulfilment- It is important that Winchester Homes provide the employees with adequate amount of training for their better performance and help realize their full potential.

Self-Esteem- The employees need to constantly motivated for the work they have been doing by improving their appraisal system and providing them with bonuses during the holiday season.

Social Needs- The employees must be provided with a sense of belonging at the workplace and ensure that all of them have a certain amount of mutual respect among one another.

Security Needs- The organisation must be able to provide the employees with adequate amount of employment security and provide them with travel allowances as well.

Basic/Physical Needs- Here the basic needs for an employee comprise of regular salaries and increment facilities from time to time.

From the case study provided, it has been estimated that there are various factors that impact the performance and wellbeing of the employees working at that house. It is of primary importance that the staff of a care house is being provided with substantial amount of facilities to ensure that they can return the favour by working profoundly and by fulfilling the needs of the residents (Fortenberry Jrand McGoldrick, 2016). The case study provides an insight of the management problems that are prevailing in the organisation beginning with the proper quality of knowledge and training from the side of the managers. In order to ensure the effective management of a workplace it is necessary that the workers are being provided with adequate amount of training and they are being guided properly by their managers (Mirandaet al., 2015). From what has been witnessed it is evident that the senior managers themselves do not possess adequate amount of training and are incapable of establishing a proper communication structure with the existing employees and the residents.

The residents have a common complain of inefficient performance from the side of the management and their lack of support for the employees as well. The organisation has been failing in providing their staff with adequate amount of job satisfaction. Even the employees are paid low against the hard work they put through for the work. The lack of proper training continues to ground them for inefficiency and the increments provided do not live up to the expectations of them. This result in de-motivating them and making sure that they have to quit their job to earn more money. Meanwhile, the people working for the night shifts are not even provided with enough night allowances. Their allowances are just limited to one free meal. At the same time, the managers have not been successful in establishing a proper communication structure with the officials so that they can forward the needs of the employees and make sure they are being provided with flexible work hours, implying that their functioning cannot be considered suitable for wellbeing of the employees.

From the case study provided, it is evident that the organisation is acquainted with various kinds of problems related to their employee development and for not providing them with enough facilities that would enhance their proficiency for the job and retain their loyalty for the organisation. Firstly, it is important that the organisation realises its needs and expectations from the employees (Guest, 2017). Also, it is necessary that their employees are in possession of the knowledge, skills and expertise required for providing their best for the job. An organisation must be committed towards functioning of them as a learning organisation and providing them with the opportunity of training and re-training to acquaint themselves with the needs of the residents and function accordingly (Schaufeliand Taris, 2014). The organisation must be able to achieve compliance in terms of staff training and development. It is also necessary that the guidance provided to the employees are sufficient for meeting the requirements of the residents and for providing them with the services they are paying for (Haslamet al., 2014).

Appropriate development methods and techniques for Winchester Homes

The training will not just be associated with the care of the residents but would also account for ensuring the health and safety of every individual residing. There are certain statutory requirements that needs to be addressed by the organisation first, to ensure that they understand the objective of their staff training and development (Dewar, 2007). They should comprise of the following:

• Promoting and protecting safe working practices to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the residents and themselves
• Provide substantial amount of knowledge regarding manual handling, first aid, food hygiene and infection control
• Allow the staff to achieve qualification in health and social care
• Ensure that they have the ability to conduct proper risk assessment and formulate proper risk management framework

Thus, it can be said that Winchester Homes should be taking the following measures for the appropriate development of their employees and assuring of their wellbeing at the same time as well:

• Provide the staff with reliable amount of induction training and allow them to pursue courses that are related to their work
• Provide them with paid training sessions and travel allowances to keep their interest for the work
• Introduce bonus scheme and reward an employee every month for their performance instead of once in a year
• The training sessions should not collide with their duty hours and the ones who have their homes too far from the institution must be provided with transportation facilities
• Their training sessions must cover the aspects of health and safety, first aid, dementia, manual handling, fire training and evacuation, food hygiene and many more

Meanwhile, an organisation can also ensure the application of motivation theories to understand the needs of the staff and encourage them to be a part of the personal development plan initiated by them (Pecoraet al., 2017).It will allow them to understand their proficiency and enhance their skills throughout their tenure at Winchester Homes.

In the past few decades, it has been identified that the performance of the care homes has taken a drastic turn. The management of majority of the care homes are mostly inclined towards generating the idea of safety and security and to enhance the performance of their employees (Squireset al., 2015). It has also become essential that the people are provided with substantial amount of training and development to discover their skills that would be fruitful for the residents and for the reputation of the organisation (Mosset al., 2016). The training and other interventions provided by Winchester Homes must cover the essence of being patient with different kinds of residents. Here, both the staff and the manager has to play a significant role for better people management.

The foremost aspect that is necessary here is increasing the staff morale and boosting their motivation to ensure that they are able to perform effectively (Stoddartand Evans, 2017). The following suggestions can be initiated to improve their performance:

• Encourage the idea of a learning environment for both the staff and the residents
• Encourage the level of communication between the senior management and the manager of the organisation to forward the needs of the employees
• Provide realistic rewards and set an example for reflecting on the performance of the employees to understand the importance of a carer’s role
• Initiate education sessions and collaborative learning groups to address any inconvenience or unfortunate events and future possibilities of not letting them happen

To ensure that the employees are able to perform according to the needs and requirements of the organisation, it is essential that the managers show subsequent amount of interest on the happenings around the lives of employees and address their expectations from the organisation (van den Heuvel, Demerouti and Peeters, 2015). The following measures can be taken to improve their wellbeing at Winchester Homes:

• Provide the employees with flexible working arrangements and if possible provide the employees with the option of working from home
• Provide them access to healthy food and the meals should not be limited for the individuals working for night shifts but for the day shift workers as well
• Provide them with incentive based trips for their own relaxation and make them feel like their work is being appreciated by the officials

Conclusion

The report provided above discussed the certain aspects associated with people management and the framework that can be used for wellbeing. The discussion also presented with the idea of generating substantial amount of knowledge and training for the effective functioning of the staff that would be considered useful for generating their loyalty. The discussion was a case study based report focusing on the management issues incurred at Winchester Homes and also relying on certain aspects of training and development programs that are essential for the management to understand. The discussion generated the application of a motivation theory that allow in the understanding of the various needs and requirements of the employees and suggested some viable ideas that could be used to ensure their wellbeing and advanced performance.

References

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