Human Resource Management and Equal Employment

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the client’s company is in need of an upgraded Human Resource Management strategy that deals with equal employment opportunity. In the past few months, it has been made evident that there is a problem when it comes to perceived discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender. Thus, the proponent of this paper will develop a performance improvement plan.

One of the major components of the performance improvement plan is the performance improvement worksheet. This performance improvement worksheet is better than other conventional forms utilized in the past because it is designed to deal with the problem of discrimination on the basis of gender. Therefore, the performance improvement plan is geared towards the creation of a corporate culture that encourages the participation of women as well as the need to actively use company’s resources to effect skills development among the female employees in the abovementioned company.

In the second half of the 20^th century, employers were made aware of the importance of Equal Employment Opportunities in the work place. It became a part of labor and commercial laws not to discriminate people on the basis of gender, race, and religion. The government has created mechanisms to monitor the compliance of various commercial establishments. It is has also become easier for employees to make their complaints public to authorities. Thus, it is not prudent to ignore laws on discrimination. This consulting firm, specializing in human resource management, was contacted by a client in order to evaluate its performance improvement plan. It was discovered that the company failed to comply with some of the Equal Employment Opportunity law standards. The main problem appears to be the lack of commitment to improve the skills of the female workforce, especially the bank tellers. Therefore, it is important to develop a performance improvement plan designed specifically for bank tellers.

The strength of the suggested performance improvement plan is in its focus to correct gender-related issues. The company may find itself in conflict with state laws with regards to Equal Employment Opportunity statutes. The improvement plan calls for the allocation of resources to train bank tellers for them to become more proficient in their respective job assignments. Since most of the vacancies assigned to this department are females, then the company will be able to accomplish two goals at the same time. The company will experience an enhancement in its business processes and, at the same time, the organization can demonstrate compliance when it comes to diversity related laws.

The improvement enhancement plan for bank tellers can be accomplished through intensive training on the information technology aspects of their job requirements. There will be a one-hour skill-enhancement exercise at the end of the work day. This skill-enhancement program will last 3 months. Afterwards, it will be evaluated and management will determine if the program is worth carrying on. Thus, for three months, the bank tellers will be paid one hour overtime because they will need to stay an hour longer after office hours to learn skills and knowledge with regards to the IT component of the work process in the mentioned bank.

Performance Improvement Plan

Participants

Review Period

• Performance Improvement Period: from ___ to ___
• Performance will be reviewed weekly commencing ___
• Final review will be conducted on ___

Responsibilities

Performance Issues Being Addressed

            There is a lack of performance improvement plan when it comes to bank tellers. This particular bank focused their attention on technology but failed to allocate resources to develop the HRM part of the business. It is important to develop HRM strategies in order to enhance their skills and to increase the morale of the workers at the same time.

            Aside from the need to develop the workers’ skills, the attention of the corporate leaders of the bank was attracted to the fact that there are gaps when it comes to compliance with Equal Opportunity Employment statutes. Thus, it is possible that later some of the employees will make a complaint and negatively affect the company’s reputation. Furthermore, it is possible that some of the employees may decide to leave the bank in search of better opportunities. Therefore, it is important to initiate a performance improvement plan in order to deal with these issues.

            The bank tellers must be the primary concern of the bank because they provide the first impression of the establishment for the first time customers. An unpleasant experience with the bank tellers can create a negative feedback and may force loyal customers to switch to another bank. In addition, customers complained about the slow work process. The IT-based technology, which was acquired by the company, was the solution to this crux. However, the bank tellers are not yet familiar with them.

This performance improvement plan is better than others because it incorporates strategies that will not only deal with performance issues but also those related to Equal Opportunity Employment statutes. The focus of the program is to enhance the value of bank tellers. Since a significant number of bank tellers are females, thus, the program provides opportunities for women to be promoted to higher positions in the company.