Case Study

Case Study Job Descriptions

Chris Verhasselt
City University of Seattle

Abstract
HITEKs appearance to its shareholders and the outside world as a successful and
competitive technology company, there are struggles within this growing company. The Human
Resource Organization provides no real strategic value despite HITEK being a people intensive
organization and its reliance on HR to attract and retain talent in a highly competitive industry.
The company lacks a talent management strategy and the perception from within the company
that HR lacks the leadership and expertise to be considered valued strategic partner.

Case Study

Case Study
HITEK is a leading and innovative company in the tech industry, however a recent hire with in
the Human Resources department has discovered some problems which not addressed could impact the
ability for the company to remain competitive in the years ahead.

Hired to review HITEKs

compensation practices, the new hires first assignment was to review and revise the growing number
of job descriptions and look to reduce that number to a manageable level. It seemed that every day on
the job she was found the pool of new job descriptions grew but old and obsolete ones were not
discarded. In addition, due to the lack of assistance she received from her own department because of
an annual review of the companies hiring, promotion and development practices there seemed to be no
stopping the managers from going out and hiring a new person each time the need presented itself.
What was being gained from this annual review? Was it only to satisfy a legal requirement or was the
company taking the time to identify its strategic talent needs and then the solutions for acquiring,
developing, engaging and retaining the talent to fill those needs? (Mundy, 2012). If to just satisfy a
legal requirement, HR was not providing any value to the company overall other than to be a paper
pusher.
Talent Management Strategy
Talent management is the science of using strategic human resource planning to improve
business value and to make it possible for companies and organizations to reach their goals.
(Wikipedia, 2016)
HITEK clearly lacks a defined talent management strategy/system.

Reportedly growing at an

average of 10 percent each year (approximately 100 positions) you would expect the company to be
retaining the employees it hires. However, its employee turnover rate is at the industry average of 14
percent (approximately 140 employees). This is a clear sign the company is not retaining the talent it
is hiring and might not be actually growing as stated. Are new employees actually being hired into new

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positions or positions vacated by employees leaving that seem new because a new job description was
created?
Before HITEK can develop a working talent management strategy/system, several issues within
its HR department need to be addressed and corrected. The overall perception of the Vice President of
HR is that her position was more of a gift than it was earned as she was promoted (from being an
executive secretary) after receiving her degree in Human Resources from a local college. While a
degree is helpful in having knowledge of the field in which you work, experience can never be taught,
it has to be earned through hard work in the trenches.
There is also a lack of faith in the overall HR team since many were promoted from clerical
positions and have little to no experience in the HR field. This perception can is causing other
employees and departments in the company to not want to collaborate or work with them for fear that
something will not get done or if it gets done it will not be correct.
Employees of the HR department are excepted to model their ideas and thoughts to that of the
Vice President, which stifles innovation and in the long run, productivity. Additionally, much of the
work done with in HR is done alone with little cross over in duties and responsibilities.
-

Develop good job descriptions so you can know the skills, abilities and experience needed

of a new employee.
Selectappropriateemployeeswhohavesuperiorpotentialandfityourorganization's

culture,withanappropriateselectionprocess.
Negotiaterequirementsandaccomplishmentbasedperformancestandards,outcomes,and

measureswithinaperformancedevelopmentplanningsystem.
Provideeffectiveemployeeonboardingandongoingtraininganddevelopmentopportunities

thatreflectboththeemployee'sandtheorganization'sneeds.
Provide on-going coaching, mentoring, and feedback so the employee feels valued and
important.

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- Conduct quarterly performance development planning discussions that focus on the
-

employee's interests for career development.

Design effective compensation and recognition systems that reward people for their
contributions. Even if all of the rest of your employment processes are employee-oriented,
people still work for money. Employers of choice aim to pay above market for talented

employees.
Provide promotional and career development opportunities for employees within a system

that includes career paths, succession planning, and on-the-job training opportunities.
Hold exit interviews to understand why a valued employee decided to leave the
organization. If the reasons provide information about company systems that you can
improve, make the changes that will better retain talented employees. (Healthfield, 2015)

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References
Healthfield,S.M.(2015,August5).BestTalentManagementPractices(WantaSuperiorWorkforce?
ManageYourTalentBetter).RetrievedAugust7,2016,fromAbout.comMoney:
http://humanresources.about.com/od/StrategicHRManagement/qt/besttalentmanagement
practices.htm
Mundy,J.C.(2012,Jlu5).WhyHRisn'tastrategicPartner.RetrievedAugust2,2016,fromHarvard
BusinessReview:https://hbr.org/2012/07/whyhrstillisntastrategicpartner