BUSM1137: Conduct an Analysis of an Organizational case study and Present Solutions for their Workplace Challenges: Human Resource Development Report, RMIT, Singapore

Aim: The main aim of this assessment is to conduct an analysis of an organizational case study and present solutions for their workplace challenges. This is an opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in various HRD areas to solve real organizational problems.

Case Study: HRD at SunTech

Background

SunTech is a start-up company that specializes in providing computer servers to medium and large corporates. They were founded 5 years ago by the owner Mathew Horton. Mathew has a background in selling IT solutions and is very technically focused. He acknowledges that his leadership and people skills could be enhanced. SunTech is bracing for expansion and they have recently increased the HR team to include a new Learning & Development (L&D) manager.

Last financial year SunTech recorded revenue of $15 million and profit of $8 million. There is a projected figure of 20 new hires over the next 12 months. Most projects completed by SunTech are usually delivered at high quality, on time, and on budget. There are a few projects which go over budget and time and this could be due to managers with limited people management skills.

SunTech workforce

SunTech initially started as a team of 7 staff and has been through immense growth over the last 3 years. They have 60 staff all based in Victoria. Turnover of staff is very low at 4%. The industry average is 12%. SunTech is made up of the following departments: Finance, Marketing, Operations (HR, Facilities & IT), Sales and Network Engineering.

The two key departments are the Sales department (total 15 staff) and the Network Engineering department (total 25 staff). Both teams have a flat structure with only a few senior managers for each department. The Sales team is client-facing and is good at managing stakeholder relationships but at times lacks a basic understanding of the technical specifications of the products. The Network engineering department is technically focused and highly skilled in IT knowledge but is not confident in communicating clearly between themselves and with other departments. Sometimes there is miscommunication between departments which can cause stress.

Managers in the organization have mainly been promoted on their technical abilities and not their people management skills. There is no training provided for new managers or staff wanting to enhance their management and leadership skills.

SunTech’s culture is described as one of working hard, achieving goals, and celebrating successes. They value teamwork and providing quality products. The senior management team would like to further boost the culture to include knowledge sharing amongst departments and better communication between team members and managers.

There are eight members of the Senior Executive team. Two of which understand the importance of lifelong learning and developing staff to perform and grow. The remaining six members understand the Tech sector well but not necessarily the importance of developing staff and having good HRD practices.

Challenges
Due to the growth of the organization, SunTech staff has not had much formal training. Training has been at best ad hoc and when training is provided there is no evaluation that takes place. The organization does not know if the training is suitable or if it meets the needs of its staff. One staff member who attended training commented that “The workshop was fun, and I enjoyed meeting and connecting with new team members across the organization. But I don’t know if I will remember all this content and how I can apply it effectively in my work for the long term.”

You have noticed that training activities are inconsistent across the organization. Some departments (i.e. Sales) have development opportunities such as workshops and online courses, while others (e.g. Network engineering and Operations) do not have any training provided. Staff survey results indicated that staff would like more development opportunities for both their technical skills and soft skills such as communication, influencing, and leadership skills.

There is a generous budget allocation ($50,000) for training and development and over the last 12 months, only a quarter of the budget has been utilized. This is largely due to major projects taking up significant time so staff is unable to attend or complete any training.