WK 4 BD1

WK 4 DB 1

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,

· Review Chapter 11 from your textbook,  Applied Psychology in Talent Management.

· Review Chapters 6 and 9 from the book  Business Ethics and Rational Corporate Policies: Leveraging Human Resources in OrganizationsLinks to an external site. .

· Review the article  Hiring Independent Contractors, Outsourcing Work, and Hiring Consultants: Here’s What You Need to Know about These Unique Business RelationshipsLinks to an external site..

Using at least two articles as supportive research, address the following:

· Discuss two contemporary human capital topics that have impacted your workplace or that you foresee impacting a business. You may use this week’s required articles or locate your own.

· Address, as a current or future leader, how understanding these topics can assist with recruiting and retaining employees.

Guided Response: Your initial response should be a minimum of 200 words. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ or instructor posts in a substantive manner and provide information or concepts that they may not have considered. Each response should have a minimum of 100 words. Support your position by using information from the week’s resources. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion forum.

Response 1

Reply from Eliseo Capellino

Two contemporary human capital topics that have impacted the workplace are remote work and outsourcing. According to Friedman (2022), “During the height of the pandemic, organizations across the globe transitioned to hybrid and remote work. Even though many organizations are considering a return to the office in some form in the future, this new trend is here to stay. The majority (92%) of companies polled by Gartner expect some employees to continue working remotely” (par. 5). As a leader remote work can assist with recruiting and retaining top talent. Technology had to move at lighting speed to keep pace since the pandemic and employees want the flexibility to work from home. By not offering remote work, we would lose out on a certain population of talent. As a leader within the company, I would analyze and determine if this should apply to every position within the company or certain departments that can still function and be productive from home. For instance, if we have brick and mortar stores that sell products and provide services to our customers like a Verizon or T-Mobile store, those employees will not qualify to work remotely. Now if it is a reporting team, a finance team or even a call center, there are possibilities of having those employees work from home. The leaders will need to strategically plan and have a cost analysis to see what makes sense for the business without jeopardizing quality.

Outsourcing is another topic that has impacted the workplace. According to Spellman, (2023), “Outsourcing entails contracting with an independent person or company to do work the practice needs to have done. Determining whether to outsource and whom to retain requires some thought and calculations. Three Factors Should Be Considered:1) Consider the cost of the outsourcing options. You can do this by requesting bids from vetted vendors. 2) Consider what would be gained from outsourcing. A company or person who cannot or will not provide you with data on past performance should not be considered. 3) Weigh these calculations against the cost-benefit ratio of performing the needed function in-house” (p. 2). Outsourcing could hurt the recruiting and retaining of potential employees and at the same time, it can help. Certain companies primarily outsource their work and need internal leaders to manage the outsourcers. This requires a certain skill set and experience that the potential candidates would need to be qualified and potentially hired. There are fortune 100 companies that outsource certain segments of their business like Apple, Comcast Communications and Verizon Communications. On the opposite side, there could be a company that has internal employees only and might decide to outsource certain departments due to the cost and efficiency that they would gain from outsourcing. This could hurt the brand image and hurt recruiting efforts. Both topics can be delicate and need to be handled with care by their leaders. Leadership needs to really think through their strategy of who they are as a company and must be able to adapt to the ever-changing environment of our global economy.

Eliseo C.

Resource

Friedman. April 21, 2022. Top 10 Issues Facing HR Leaders Heading Into 2022.  Top 10 Issues Facing HR Leaders Heading Into 2022 (forbes.com)Links to an external site.

Spellman, M. B. (2023).  Hiring independent contractors, outsourcing work, and hiring consultants: Here’s what you need to know about these unique business relationships.Links to an external site.  Podiatry Management, 42(9), 36–38.

Response 2

Reply from Lane Turney

There are a myriad of human capital topics impacting workplaces across the globe, and I will focus on my own organization in reference to two of these topics.

Employee Retention

Since the pandemic, retaining top talent has become increasingly difficult as the talent market has shifted in favor of applicants. Since the pandemic necessitated some organizations to work remotely, many organizations have come to find that “workers yearn for flexibility and desire for both a fulfilling job and life outside of work” (Gonsalves, 2024, para. 1). As remote work become more prevalent over the past few years, fears of a drop in productivity have arisen due to the perception that employees need to be closely monitored in a live workplace environment. Mark Zuckerberg himself believes the opposite to be true. “People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t. And a lot of people are actually saying that they’re more productive now” (Zuckerberg as cited by Gonsalves, 2024, para. 2). remote work contributes towards retention by reducing turnover. Employees appreciate the flexibility and increased work-life balance, thereby making them less likely to resign (Gonsalves, 2024). Within my own organization, remote work has been a resounding success as next to no employees elected to work in office when provided the choice. Our current CEO has attempted to obligate some employees, namely supervisors, to go into the office on a hybrid status, only a few days per week, due to tax incentives provided to companies to keep their brick-and-mortar presence in large cities across the nation. As my organization’s hypothetical leader, I would want to delve more into the tax structures and other reasons that are preventing us from liquidating our brick-and-mortar buildings, considering the vast majority of employees prefer remote work and statistics have shown increased productivity.

DEIB (Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging)

DEIB has become an increasingly important topic in human capital because of the shifting political implications that have allowed a greater focus on it. However, many organizational leaders are confronted with many challenges of achieving DEIB. A Harvard Business Review Study showed that while a majority of leaders are making strides in the DEIB programs, only a minority percent of employees feel that their organization’s current efforts have improved DEIB (Tedrick, 2023). If organizations don’t put concerted effort into improving DEIB, they can suffer the consequences of lawsuits, but more immediately their retention rate could suffer. As the leader of my organization, I would apply certain principles to ensure effective DEIB. I would set aside time for self-reflection, evaluating my own fixed perceptions and how to change them. Also greatly important to this process is the inclusion portion- get everyone on the same page. DEIB isn’t just the purview of HR, but should incorporate the entire organization to be successful.  

References

Gonsalves, G. (2024). The Secret To Retaining Top Talent: Why Remote Work Is Your Best Strategy For Long-Term Employee Satisfaction.  Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2024/09/03/the-secret-to-retaining-top-talent-why-remote-work-is-your-best-strategy-for-long-term-employee-satisfaction/

Tedrick, S. (2023).  Using innovation principles to improve DEIB outcomes.  Leadership Excellence, 40(4), 31–33.Links to an external site.