Motivating Employees Simulation Essay

Attrition is something that a company may experience at any time with or without notice. The company must be prepared when such a situation arises within their organization. During the interview process, key questions can be asked in order to understand the thought process of the interviewee. These questions can be related to future plans, past employment and details about specific duties the job requires. Questions relating to future plans will give the company a general idea on how long the potential employee plans on staying with the company. If they have other goals that do not meet the company expectations, this could be a sign of them using the position as a stepping stone to a better opportunity. Past employment details can show loyalty to a company. If the interviewee has moved from job to job in a short amount of time, this may display a lack of commitment and potential issues within the workplace. When asking about past employment, talk about reasons for leaving each company. This will give insight to their leaving and whether they may be a good fit. The last topic to discuss would be about specific job duties that the employee will be executing. This will give them a glimpse into the working environment and how the operation of the company works. The employee and the company will then be able to use this information and decide whether they feel each party will be satisfied with the position. During the interview and hiring process, the company will need to decide on whether they will use selection tests and other techniques to get information about the candidate. From the simulator, it did not appear that Magic Graffix was using reference checks during the hiring process. The use of reference checks, preferably professional, will allow for the company to get information from previous employers about the job performance of the candidate. It can provide information about rewards, promotions and whether  or not the performance was satisfactory. By utilizing this tool, Magic Graffix can differentiate between strong and weak candidates. Another test that can be used is a job skills test. Given that the company will be hiring for a new sector, they will want to hire experienced employees that require little or no training. Software development is a highly skilled job and a job skills test will allow the company to consider highly qualified candidates. Training can be an additional cost to the company; therefore, limiting the amount needed at time of hire will add money to the bottom profit line. In a company, it is important to provide feedback to the employees about how their job performance has been over an extended period of time. This feedback will allow for the company to share the positives and negatives regarding work related performance. There are many different ways to provide this information to the employees. Two methods that can be used are behavior-oriented rating methods and results-oriented rating methods. â€Å"Behavior-oriented rating methods focus on employee behaviors, either by comparing the performance of employees to that of other employees or by evaluating each employee in terms of performance standards without reference to others. Results-oriented rating methods place primary emphasis on what an employee produces; dollar volume of sales, number of units produced, and number of wins during a baseball season are examples.† (Cascio, 2005) Within each of these methods, there are different appraisal techniques that can be used. Work planning and review will help the company identify goals attained, problems encountered and the need for training over the given time period. This method will allow the company to set goals for their employees and accountability can be more accurately measured. Although this can be a time consuming method, it will ensure proper follow up and can set guidelines for training programs. Training opportunities will be easily identified through attainability of measurable goals. A behavioral checklist can be used to give a clear comparison across the employees. Scores will be given based on performance and job analysis. These scores can then be compared with their peers to see where opportunities can be addressed. If employees are scoring low, training can be delegated to improve performance. Questions can be asked on specific job requirements and answers will be given in the form of either always, very often, fairly often, occasionally and never. Each category will hold a numerical value and then the total number will give the employee their rating. Another form of appraisal is ranking. â€Å"Simple ranking requires only that a rater order all employees from highest to lowest, from â€Å"best† employee to â€Å"worst† employee.† (Cascio, 2005) This form can be good for making comparisons; however, it will provide very little feedback on a given individual. The best tool for Magic Graffix to use would be work planning and review. Although this will require intense and repeated follow-up, it will give the company an opportunity to identify training and development opportunities. Through the results of the Employment Satisfaction Survey, training concerns were high among all groups of workers. By setting attainable goals and properly measuring output, the company can identify the needs and have a faster resolution time. Magic Graffix is looking to expand their company and hire new talent to help them achieve this goal. Proper interview and recruitment techniques will need to be used in order to make sure only the highly qualified candidates get hired. Development of a performance appraisal plan will need to be implemented. This will allow for proper follow up and help identify opportunities in training and development. Magic Graffix is on track to succeed in their new venture as long as they continue to keep morale high and attrition low. References Cascio, Wayne F. (2005). Managing Human Resources. Chapter 9: Performance Management. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HRM/558 website. ISBN: 9780072987324