Case Analysis

[*note to developer: This document is an attachment to Week 9 case analysis assignment in Assignments area.]

Utiliscan case analysis

Paul, the HR Director at Plastec, had previously worked as Director of HR for Utiliscan, a small company with 240 employees that makes software for utility companies. The majority of employees were programmers and engineers who designed and installed proprietary software for regulating and tracking electricity and gas. Since the company had been experiencing a 15-20% rate of growth, recruiting experienced employees was a continuing challenge due to the specialized skill sets required. Paul left the company when he found out from a friend about the opportunity at Plastec. Just before he left, he conducted an employee survey which revealed the following.

• 78% of the employees were satisfied with their working conditions and they enjoyed freedom and flexibility to perform their jobs without strict supervision

• 70% felt their workloads were adequate – not too heavy, not too light

• 55% felt safe, with little danger of occupational hazards associated with their physical environment. There were comments, presumably from the 45% who did not feel safe, that some of the utility plants where they worked on installations were not as safe as they should be

• 89% felt there were few if any opportunities to improve their skills

• 87% responded there were no promotion opportunities

• 74% felt there was little relationship between their performance and their pay. There were numerous comments that performance reviews hadn’t been done on time or hadn’t been done at all. Other comments indicated arbitrary treatment and favoritism of some employees.

• 56% felt their benefits were below average or poor. Note: since many employees had previously worked for large utilities, Utiliscan’s benefits probably didn’t compare favorably with those offered by the larger organizations.

Paul informally shared the...