InterClean, a cleaning and sanitation company, aims to be the dominating force in the industry. In line with this vision, it has recently acquired EnviroTech, and is moving towards changing its focus towards providing a complete solution and service. This paper will discuss the problem that InterClean faces in joining the sales team of both the companies, and how to overcome them.
InterClean realizes that it can only achieve its goal only if it has the right employees. When a skills inventory was taken, it was found out that InterClean’s employees have not continued their education, which may hamper the new vision. In contrast, the employees of EnviroTech seem to have the required skill set that InterClean needs. Their employees have developed themselves both academically and professionally. Hence, the dilemma of InterClean is related to training.
As the skill set of the merging sales team vary considerably, InterClean needs to provide the best training. The cost and the timeframe for the training will be challenge, but InterClean will have to endure it to achieve its vision. One way to provide training is to through cross-functional teams. Cross-functional teams comprises of people from different departments and divisions, which helps in employees to handle more responsibilities. Cross-functional teams are known to improve job satisfaction, increase productivity, and improve an organization’s ability to solve problems (Reilly & Williams, 2006).
Another solution to this problem is to retain only those employees who have the desired skills and knowledge. This might mean that almost all of the InterClean employees will have to laid off. Retaining the employees with the desired skills and knowledge will help with the overall process of aligning staffing with the strategic goal of InterClean because the employees retained will have the skills desired. In addition having the right employees will have a major impact on whether or not InterClean will be an industry leader or just another sanitation company.
As with most acquisitions or mergers, the acquisition of EnviroTech might call for a reduction in the workforce. The consequences of layoffs can lead to a drop in employee morale. Downsizing can also have a negative impact on the image of the company. HR along with management will need to effectively communicate the need and reason for layoffs to both the employees and the public. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007).
HR will need to have a sound plan to determine which employees will be retained and which will be let go. Some employees may not agree with or accept the changes which may lead to disagreements among coworkers. The need for change will need to be shown to the employees. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007).
Negative attitudes and distrust of management by employees will further sabotage the company’s strategic goals. Management will need to communicate to employees, especially its high performers that training on the new sales model will increase their value to the company. In addition, HR can help in boosting the morale of the employees by offering employees counseling and surveying employees to find out their questions and concerns. (Schuler & Jackson, 2007).
The first step InterClean will need to take will be to update the HR system to align with the new strategic direction of the company. By doing this HR will better to be able to select the employees who will help InterClean achieve its goals. In addition this will also help HR decide what tools to use when recruiting and hiring employees. Knowing the direction of the company will help HR decide whether they should use Interviews, work sample tests, cognitive ability tests, recruits from elite colleges, or a combination of methods (Schuler & Jackson, 2007).
Once the HR system is updated and aligned with the organization, the next step will be to align the employees to coincide with HR and the direction of the company. All the employees of InterClean and EnviroTech will be reviewed, and then it will be decided which employees will be retained. Once this is determined the management team will communicate the decision and the reason behind the decisions to employees. Counseling will be offered to those employees who will be laid off and an exit plan for these employees will be implemented. In addition a survey will be given to employees who will remain with the company to address any questions or concerns they may have regarding the new direction of the company.
Reilly, P., & Williams, T. (2006). Strategic Hr: Building the Capability to Deliver. Hants, England: Gower Technical Press.
Schuler, R. S., & Jackson, S. E. (2007). Strategic Human Resource Management (2 ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.