Submitted to Dr.

Humeira Jawed
Faculty, Health and Hospital Management, Institute of Business Management

Submitted by
Human Resource
Sidra Aftab (12349) & Syed Ather Hussain Zaidi (10191)

Problems in
Spring 2012, MBA Health & Hospital Management, Institute of Business
Management

Engro Foods
Course Health Ethics
Date April 24, 2012

Limited

Submitted to Shah Saad Hussain

Faculty, Human Resource Management Department,
Institute of Business Management (IoBM)

Submitted by Sidra Aftab (12349)

Spring 2012, MBA Health & Hospital Management,
Institute of Business Management

Course Human Resource Management

Date May 08, 2012
 LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

May 08, 2012

Shah Saad Hussain,
Faculty, Human Resource Management Department,
Institute of Business Management
Korangi Creek
Karachi-75190

Dear Sir:

This is to inform you that I, hereby, am submitting the term report of “Human Resource
Problems in Engro Foods Limited” as attached.

I am grateful to Almighty, who enabled me to undertake this task and bestowed upon me, His
great blessings all the way through. I am highly grateful to you for your valuable time and help
that you rendered in spite of your busy schedule and for your precious guidance at every step.
You have been a source of enthusiasm and courage which kept me energetic during the whole
semester. The knowledge shared is priceless and would remain there with us throughout the
life.

Sincerely,

Sidra Aftab (2011-2-28-12349)

MBA (Health and Hospital Management)
Institute of Business Management, Karachi.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Engro-Overview ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Vision.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Divisions........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Engro Foods Limited (EFL) .............................................................................................................................................. 7
History ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Vision.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Mission........................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
EFL’s Dreams .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Core Values .................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Products ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Functional Areas.................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Organizational Structure .................................................................................................................................................. 13
Organogram of Human Resource Department ....................................................................................................... 14
Human Resource Department at EFL .......................................................................................................................... 15
EFL’s HR Strategy and its fit with different organizational factors .............................................................. 15
HR Strategy and EFL’s Business Strategy ........................................................................................ 16
HR Strategy and EFL’s Characteristics .............................................................................................. 17
HR Strategy and EFL’s Capabilities..................................................................................................... 17
HR Strategy and EFL’s environment .................................................................................................. 18
Major HR Problems at EFL ............................................................................................................................................. 19
Problem 1- Recruitment Process .................................................................................................................................... 19
EFL Recruitment Process........................................................................................................................ 20
Impact of slow recruitment process on the company ................................................................ 25
Problem 2- Grievances Handling ................................................................................................................................... 27
Impact of the problem on the company ................................................................................................. 28
Problem 3- Succession Planning .................................................................................................................................... 31
Impact of Improper Succession Planning on the company ...................................................... 33
Problem 4- Turnover Rate................................................................................................................................................. 36

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 Impact of High Employee turnover rate on company................................................................. 38
Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................................. 40
Recruitment and Selection ................................................................................................................................................ 40
Grievances Handling ............................................................................................................................................................ 44
Succession Planning ............................................................................................................................................................. 46
Employee Turnover .............................................................................................................................................................. 47
Action Plan for Improving Recruitment and Selection Process ......................................................... 49
Action Plan for Grievance Handling ............................................................................................................. 50
Action Plan for Succession Planning ............................................................................................................ 51
Action Plan for Reducing Employee Attrition .......................................................................................... 52
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 53
References ............................................................................................................................................................. 54

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Human Resource is the most valuable asset for a business. Managing human resource well can
give the company a competitive advantage. With growing interest towards managing people,
companies are now paying more attention to addressing human resource problems to get and
retain the best people to work for the organization. Despite this, every organization is
confronted with problems related to managing human resource which affect all of the other
operations of the company.

Engro Foods Limited is a division of Engro Corporation. The Human Resource Department is
headed by Human Resource Manager to whom five Managers report. The HR strategy is in line
with the organizational strategy of growth and diversification which is indicated by the
introduction of new product lines of juices and nectars and hiring of more technical staff to
develop such products and the acquisition of Al-Safa, the meat company in America.

Major Human Resource Problems of EFL include recruitment process which is too long to be
completed within a given time frame. Though all the steps of recruitment process are necessary
but due to non-availability of people who are to be involved in recruitment, the process
becomes slow which creates workload for the on-board employees disturbing their work-life
balance and resulting in employee grievances, decreased productivity and overall performance
of the organization. The problem can be resolved by designing an online application form which
will have filters, using social media to attract best people, discussing relocation during interview
and designing a recruitment calendar for each pot will help to achieve goal in the decided time.

The second major problem is Grievance Handling which is the resultant of lack of role clarity,
relocation of employees, unhealthy relationships between employees, imbalance between job
and study, imbalance between work and personal life, workload and unexpected changes in
work. This problem is resulting in dissatisfied employees with low morale and motivation,
decreased productivity with frequent thoughts of quitting. The problem can be resolved if
compensation is decided based on job size, adding extra work in the duty list of the employee if

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assigned and updating Job Descriptions each time new duties are added, arranging for
recreation of employees and keeping a check on ergonomics.

Succession Planning is the third major problem. Annual turnover rate at EFL is around 17%.
People leave the company because of unanswered grievances of excessive workload and
packages. Organizational politics determine who is to be trained and supervisors are not fully
committed to provide guidance to sub-ordinates to make them their successors. Above all,
there is no proper succession planning policy in place and support from top management is
lacking too. This improper succession planning is resulting in unidentified career paths, lack of
learning and growth opportunities, low employee morale and motivation, frequent thoughts of
quitting and the company may lose potential employees. The problem can be handled by
formulating a grievance policy to decrease turnover and retain people who will become
successors, evaluating and appraising supervisors on how much skills and knowledge they are
imparting to sub-ordinates and formulating a proper succession planning policy approved by
top management.

EFL is confronted with high turnover rate problem which is 17% per annum. This high rate is
due to lack of proper retention strategy, lack of grievance handling policies because of which
grievances are not answered within the specific time which pushes the employee leave the
company. High turnover rate is stealing HR’s valuable time in constant recruitment of new
candidates which itself is a slow process. Separation, recruitment, selection, training, and low
productivity costs are to be born by the company which gives the impression in a general
perspective that HR is an expensive department and should be demolished. Turnover can be
decreased if the company implements a retention strategy in which competitive packages
offered to employees with a defined career path for employees, presents a realistic job preview
in the interview to the candidate, shows care and support to the employees when needed and
conducts frequent employees’ surveys to ascertain how employees feel about the company.

Action plan of 6 moths or more involving HR staff and immediate supervisors can help to
recoup. A constant check is required to monitor the progress towards set goal to prevent
deviations from what is to be achieved.

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ENGRO-OVERVIEW

Engro stands for “ENergy for GROwth”. From inception, Engro is a legacy of continuous
growth, new challenges and fulfilled promises. From fertilizers to dairy products, business
solutions to PVC resin, power generation to commodity trade, at Engro the ambition is to
become the premier Pakistani enterprise with a global reach.

Engro is a diversified business enterprise, comprising of 5 subsidiaries and a joint venture

company. Its business line includes chemical fertilizers, PVC resin, a bulk liquid chemical
terminal, industrial automation, foods and power generation. Engro is currently serving
customers in 17 countries globally through 11 offices in 3 countries in Asia and North America.
A national company with an international reach, Engro is one of the largest and fastest growing
companies in Pakistan today.

VISION
"To be the premier Pakistani enterprise with a global reach, passionately pursuing value
creation for all stakeholders.”

DIVISIONS

Engro today stands recognized as a successful business operation and a role model for doing
business in Pakistan.
* Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited (ECPL)
* Engro Vopak Terminal Limited (EVTL)
* Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL)
* Avanceon (formerly known as Engro Innovative Automation Pvt. Limited)
* Engro Foods Limited (EFL)
* Engro Energy Limited (EEL)
* Engro Eximp (Pvt.) Limited (EEPL)

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ENGRO FOODS LIMITED (EFL)

HISTORY
Engro Foods (Pvt.) Limited (EFL) has been established in 2005 as part of a diversification process
at the Engro Group. The plant located at Sukkur on 23 acre land, has the raw milk reception
capability of 300,000 liters per day and UHT milk capacity of 200,000liters per day. The plant
has been established at a cost of Rs. 1 billion which provides direct employment to 750 people.
Engro Foods has entered the Food business through milk processing and sale with the
company’s vision to pursue growth opportunities based on country fundamentals and own
strength. It also positions the company to leverage its corporate social responsibility initiatives
and work closely with rural communities to promote integrated farming and livestock
development. This effort is expected to play a pivotal role in poverty alleviation and improving
livelihoods of the poor in the milk collection areas.

VISION
"Our vision is to become a fast expanding mega foods company.

To achieve our vision, the company will initially focus on dairy by investing a substantial amount
in plant, milk collection capability and marketing.

We are making concrete efforts to expand in and beyond Pakistan; through strategic
international alliances, to eventually become global.”

MISSION
To help farmers maximize their farm produce by providing quality plant nutrients and technical
services upon which they can depend. To create wealth by building new businesses based on
company and country strengths in Petrochemicals, Informational Technology, Infrastructure
and other Agricultural sectors. In pursuing the mission, we shall at all time be guided in our
conduct and decision making by our Core Values.

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EFL’S DREAMS
EFL dreams to be big. It wants to be a major player in the food industry which is also evident in its vision
“Elevating Consumer Delight Worldwide”. EFL wants to challenge the industry norms and surprise
whoever has eyes on EFL.

CORE VALUES

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SAFETY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

EFL will manage and utilize resources and operations in such a way the safety and health of its
people, neighbors, customers and visitors is ensured. EFL believes that its safety, health and
environmental responsibilities extend beyond protection and enhancement of its own facilities
and it is concerned about its distribution, use and after-use disposal of its products.

ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

EFL does care how results are achieved and will demonstrate honest and ethical behavior in all
our activities. Choosing the course of highest integrity is its intent and it will establish and
maintain the highest professional and personal standards. A well-founded reputation for
scrupulous dealing is itself a priceless asset.

LEADERSHIP

EFL has leaders of high integrity, energy and enthusiasm who have the necessary managerial,
professional and people skills to inspire a group or organization to set high goals and achieve
them willingly. It believes that leadership skills need to be strengthened at all levels within its
organizations and that managerial and professionalism is a necessary foundation.

QUALITY AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

EFL believes that quality and relentless commitment to continuous improvement are essential
to its ongoing success. To this end, it defines quality as understanding the customer’s
expectations, agreeing on performance and value and providing products and services that
meet expectations 100% of the time. Its motto is “Quality in all we do”.

ENTHUSIASTIC PURSUIT OF PROFIT

Successfully discharging its responsibilities to its stake-holders to enhance the long-term

profitability and growth of its company provides the best basis of its career security and

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meaningful personal growth. They can best accomplish it by consistently meeting the
expectations of its customers and providing them with value.

CANDID AND OPEN COMMUNICATION

EFL values communication that is courteous, candid and open and that enable each of the
member of EFL to do jobs more effectively by providing information that contributes to the
quality of the judgment and decision making.

INNOVATION

Success requires EFL to continually strive to produce break-through ideas that result in
improved solutions and services to customers. EFL encourages challenges to the status and
seek organizational environment in which ideas are generated.

INDIVIDUAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

EFl strongly believes in the dignity and value of people. EFL believes that its members must
consistently treat each other with respect and strive to create an organizational environment.

TEAMWORK AND PARTNERSHIP

EFL believes that high performing teams containing appropriate diversity can achieve what
individuals alone cannot.

DIVERSITY AND INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

EFL values differences in gender, race, nationality and culture, personality and style because
diverse solutions, approaches and structures are more likely to meet the needs of the
customers and achieve our business goals.

PRODUCTS
Olper’s Milk

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 Olper’s Cream
Olwell
Omore
Tarang
Tarka Ghee

FUNCTIONAL AREAS

ADMINISTRATION

Efficient management of all administrative affairs of Engro Foods (Pvt.) Limited is the job of the
Administrative department. From legal matters to general day-to-day operations of the office,
the Administration ensures that all affairs run smoothly.

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS

The Finance and Accounting Department at EFL are responsible for the total financial
management of the different businesses of the company. From the usually accounting
statements to risk and portfolio management, the team ensures that every rupee coming into
and out of the companies’ pockets is properly documented and audited.

MARKETING

Consisting of the leading marketing professionals of the industry, who are top graduates of
business schools of Pakistan, the marketing department ensures that from production need
identification to product development, launch and post-launch, all strategic decisions are made
based on authentic information and research. Identifying the target markets, effectively
communicating to them and building the image of the brand as well as the companies is the job
of the professionals running the market at Engro Foods.

MILK PROCUREMENT

As all of the food products of EFL are milk based, the Milk Procurement Department plays a

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critical role in defining the quality of the end product that reaches the customers. Ensuring
regular collection of fresh and pure milk right from the farmer to the factory and ascertaining
the freshness of milk all across the milk procurement process, is the responsibility of Milk
Procurement Department, consisting of food technologists working at the collection centers
and veterinary doctors providing services to the farmers.

MIS

The MIS Department at EFL ensures that all automation is running error-free at all times.
Regularly modifying and updating the company’s accounting software is also the MIS team’s
responsibility.

PRODUCTION

Modern technology is part and parcel of Production at EFL. The state-of-the-art plant setup
near Sukkur has a processing capacity of more than 300,000 liters of milk per day, making it one
of the largest in the country. Professionally qualified human resource efficiently works night
and day to maintain the highest hygiene standards.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Quality Assurance is strictly followed in EFL. Qualified Food Technologists at this department
ensure that highest quality parameters are adhered to through all steps of production and that
the products reach the consumer as per promise.

SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION

This department ensures timely and effective distribution of the products to different shops
and stores spread all across Pakistan. From transportation management to obtaining route
permits and approvals, is done by this department.

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 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

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 ORGANOGRAM OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Head of HR

Talent HR Supply Chain Compensation & HR Sales

Talent & OD
Acquisition Business Partner Benefits Business
Manager
Manager Manager Partner

Assistant SC Function
Manager Assistant Assistant
Training Manager Comp
Manager Talent Manager
T&OD Acquisition & Ben

Talent Employee
Acquisition Relations
Executive Manager

Plant HR

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Human Resource Department at EFL

The Human Resource Department at EFL spearheads the recruitment process to ensure that the
finest human resource is taken on board at Engro Foods. Resume of candidates are carefully
filed and documented for current and future reference. The department besides carrying out
succession planning also maintains and implements HR policies pertaining to employment,
retention and superannuation. Assessing training needs of employees and ensuring adequate
training is also carried out by the professional HR team at Engro Foods.

EFL’s HR Strategy and its fit with different organizational

factors

For any organization, regardless of its size, capabilities and finance, the most important
resource and highly valuable asset is Human Resource or the people of that organization. Value
of managing this asset has been recognized by almost all bigger organizations and the result is
the establishment of a department; know as Human Resource (HR) Department. Still this area
needs to be explored further and much work is to be done and so, Human Resource
Management is in its infancy stage.

The drive behind the establishment of HR department in any organization is to make the best
use of the talent and skills of the employees and ultimately to gain a competitive advantage
over the competitors. In order to achieve this objective, the HR department defines its strategy
or the plan of action. Randall Schuler defines HR strategy 1 as:

“HR strategies are essentially plans and programs to address and solve fundamental strategic
issues related to Human Resource Management”

This plan of action should be according to the abilities of the organization, characteristics of the
organization, organizational strategy and the environment as well as what is happening outside
the organization, i.e. external environment which takes into account the competitors of the
organization in the market. If the action plan of HR does not fit the aforementioned factors,

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then the organization will fail to gain a competitive advantage as a misfit between them will
result in inadequate performance of the employees and ultimately of the organization.

The following diagram can be used to illustrate the relationship between HR Strategy and
organization’s internal and external environment, taking Engro Foods Limited (EFL) as an
example.

HR STRATEGY AND EFL’S BUSINESS STRATEGY

EFL’s HR strategy shows an alignment with its business strategy of growth and diversification. In
the last few years, EFL has divested in juices and nectars’ segment and while continuing its
strategy of diversification, EFL is now moving towards healthier and nutritious food, one
example of which is “Olper’s Lite”, the low-fat high calcium milk. Further to this, EFL’s HR
strategy entails hiring of people from health sector, particularly Nutritionist with the education
background of Food and Nutrition Sciences and experience in hospital or clinical area. This plan
is being worked upon at the moment. HR department is screening candidates, best in town, aim
of which is to beat competitors, particularly Nestle and Unilever. Nestle’s tagline is “Good Food
Good Life” and the focus of the company is the innovation in healthy food brands, which makes
the competition fierce for EFL. In order to kill this, a team of Research and Development is
being made ready to come up with innovative healthy brands of food.

Apart from this, HR strategy in this regard also includes training of staff which differs in each

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department. For instance, Staff in Research and Development Department is trained for latest
technology in food processing. Training needs are assessed first and technical trainings are
designed considering what output the organization will receive in terms of new ideas in food
products. The focus again here is to train people to that level which will give the organization, a
competitive advantage.

HR STRATEGY AND EFL’S CHARACTERISTICS

EFL is one of the new learning organizations and value innovation and creativity which is
evident from its very recent innovative food brands. Currently EFL is producing around more
than 70 different food products. HR strategy followed in this regard is that of compensation.
The company rewards employees who come up with innovative ideas, not only related to food
production, but also related to marketing of the brand which gives the organization an edge
over the competitors. This reward system of HR department motivates employees in EFL to
perform better and best. Moreover, EFL is found to be people-centric by its own employees.
This shows that the HR strategy of EFL is also in line with the values of the EFL, i.e. caring for the
people of the organization. There are policies of provident fund, gratuity fund, variable pay
plan, compensation cars, field car, hospital cover, life insurance, out break allowance, etc. for
the employees. All this is done to retain the best talent at the workplace to make and deliver
best products.

HR STRATEGY AND EFL’S CAPABILITIES

With only 6% market share 5 to 6 years back, EFL has been successful in increasing its market
share up to 43% in 2011. This has been made possible by experts hired at EFL, These
professionals with technical know-how are continuously trained for technicalities so that best
techniques and processes are employed. This training strategy of HR is feasible because EFL
allocates funds to train employees and that reflects the capabilities EFL. It is because of this
training strategy that EFL showed compliance to standards of practice and obtained 5 ISO
certifications related to food safety, environment, etc. and implemented 2 SAP modules within

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a period of a year compared to Unilever where there was only 1 certification for the company
in 3 years of time.

HR STRATEGY AND EFL’S ENVIRONMENT

With respect to environment, specific HR strategies are worked upon. EFL believes in hiring
local people. There are two plants of EFL, one in Mureedkay and the other is in Sahiwal. For
hiring for work at plants, usually local candidates, residing closer to the plants are considered
but their education and experience are also taken into account. If the best talent is not
available closer to plants, then candidates are hired from big cities and then are relocated. Here
comes the role of HR to retain an employee who will work far from his/her home at plant. So,
the HR strategy includes paying that relocated employee more than the normal pay. The
compensation of relocation is expressed as percentage of the basic pay. Accommodation is also
a part of compensation of relocation.

Proper fit between EFL’s HR strategy and all 4 factors lead to improved performance of
employees. This creates a win-win situation where employees feel happy about how they are
treated by their organization, not as employees, but as a family with market competitive
packages and at the same time, the organization gets benefit of the best talent and skills shown
by the employees which directly affect organizational performance in the market.

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MAJOR HR PROBLEMS AT EFL

This report tends to analyze some of the problems faced by Human Resource Department at
EFL. To identify and analyze the problems, discussions were held with HR personnel at EFL. The
root-cause analysis has been done using Fishbone diagram and discussion of problems are
followed by Recommendations which are thought to help the company resolve problems.

Problem 1- Recruitment Process

Recruitment and selection are main HR functions which bring potential candidates to the
organization. The purpose of recruitment is to provide a qualified pool of candidates for ease in
selection process. Objectives of recruitment include determining the present and future
requirements of the organization, meeting the organization’s legal and social obligations and
evaluating the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job
applicants. Factors affecting recruitment in any organization include; size of the organization,

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rate of growth of the organization, cultural, economic and legal factors, future expansion and
production programs, etc.

EFL RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Recruitment process is initiated after the HR department receives a requisition from the
concerned department where the candidate is required. With requisition, the department
manager also outlines job specification with respect to education, experience, specific skills,
etc. which are necessary to perform the job. This helps in attracting candidates who possess the
required education, experience and skills. For this purpose, the company first looks into its own
database that is internal database. It looks into its skills inventory if there is any already on-
board employee who possesses the required education, experience and skills and can be
shifted to the new position. If there is any qualified internal candidate, then the HR department
uses external sources, advertises the vacancy and shortlists candidate, screens them and
chooses the candidate who has the best fit with the job. Mean recruitment time at EFL is 30
days.

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Following are the steps of recruitment process at EFL for Management Professions and
Technicians:
START

In case of a vacancy an approved requisition to
be submitted by the concerned Department
with justification o HR
Line Manager
If this interview is cleared, an Interview with the
Head of HR and/ or MD is scheduled.
Recruitment Team

Candidate is given an offer letter

Identification of possible candidates through
Advertisements, Consultants, University Visits Recruitment Team / HR Operations
and/or HR Database
Recruitment Team
IF offer accepted, candidate fills application
form and reference checks are carried out.
Candidate undergoes medical test and CMO
Pre-Screening Interviews & IQ test sends fitness report to HR.
Recruitment Team/ CMO
Recruitment Team

In case of candidate being medically unfit a

regret letter is sent out.
nd
2 Round of Interviews for Short Listed
Recruitment Team/ HR Operations
Candidates
Mgr. HRD & Staffing / Line Manager
In case the offer is rejected, other candidates
are given an offer
Recruitment Team/ HR Operations
Prepare a list of Short listed candidates –
Forward List to HR Head and Dept. Head
Recruitment Team
All rejected candidates are sent appropriate
regret letters
Recruitment Team
Schedule interviews with HR and/or Dept.
Head for the selected candidates
Recruitment Team Plan orientation of new inductee.
Learning Team

END

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Identification of need:

The first step is to check whether there is a requirement for new selection. If there is a new
position to be developed then COED checks for that. If an already existing position has become
vacant due to any reason, then the department notifies the Human Resource Department to
place advertisement in the newspapers.

Advertisement:

After the identification of need, the Human Resource department places the advertisement in
the newspaper to call for resumes. The advertisement specifies the job description and the job
specification.

Job description:

These are the listing of duties as well as desirable qualifications for a particular job e.g. the
advertisement also specifies number of years worth of experience to apply for the job.

Job specifications:

These are the characteristics and the abilities required from a person to work in that position
such as leadership and teamwork qualities or command over English.

Application Form\ Submission of Resume:

Application forms enable the candidates to present a complete picture of their talents, interests
and ambitions. It is the first stage of evaluation and the basic criteria for initial selection. The
candidates must present a resume which makes the person stand out.

Evaluation of Resume:

After the resumes of hopeful candidates have been received, the HR department checks all the
resumes of the people who have applied. In its evaluation the HR department checks the
experience and the qualities of the individual and matches them to the requirement of the job.

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Short Listing:

After the evaluation of the resumes the HR shortlists the candidates who have fulfilled the
minimum requirement of the job description and specification.

Test:

The test is conducted by the HR department. In the test the managers check the IQ level,
English Composition and Logic. The duration of the test is exactly one hour. The test is checked
manually and is done by the HR department.

Interview:

The candidates who have successfully cleared the tests and have scored above than relevant
mark are then called for interview. The interview is conducted by four people, on executive and
three managers. All the four interviewers should preferably be from within the department but
often that is not the case. The purpose of the interviews is to check the person’s subjective
skills which are difficult to measure such as attitude, communication skills, abilities and
personality. During the interview all four person mark the candidate individually and then put
forward a cumulative mark. These are the marks against which different candidates are
differentiated.

Recommendation to Human Resource Department:

Following the interview the employee of the particular department goes to the HR and gives
recommendation to the HR manager regarding the interview of the candidate. The HR then
conducts an interview with the candidate where they decide the Grade scale of the candidate,
the different benefits and the pay scale.

Medical:

After the terms of contract is agreed upon, the candidate is asked to have a medical test.

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Hiring:

After the medical test, the candidate is referred back to the relevant department with the
contract. If the department agrees upon it, then the candidate is hired.

Non Management Profession and Technician:

The non Management Profession and Technician recruitment procedure is the same except for
the basic difference that they don’t sit the test. They only have to send the resume and pass the
interview. There also is a difference in the interview. While for MPT there are three managers
and one executive, in the NMPT procedure there are no executives. The managers may or may
not be present in the interviews. Otherwise it has the same procedure.

· Identification of need
· Advertisement
· Application Form\ Submission of Resume
· Evaluation of Resume
· Short Listing
· Interview
· Recommendation to Human Resource Management
· Medical
· Hiring

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IMPACT OF SLOW RECRUITMENT PROCESS ON THE COMPANY

The recruitment process is the first step to bring new people to company. If the process is slow,
there will be delay in all operations. A lot of vacant positions are in production and research
side. People with technical skills who are not recruited on time cause trouble for the company
and this practice is not in-line with the corporate strategy of the company, i.e. growth and
expansion. Not only this, slow recruitment process is creating an unfavorable image in the
market and on applicants. When applicants apply for vacant positions at EFL, they actually want
to change their workplace. Many times, it happens that because of slow recruitment process at
EFL, some applicants do not wait and join somewhere else. This creates a chance for the
company to lose valuable skills and knowledge of the competent candidate. Slow recruitment
process is increasing all costs which are incurred because of departed employees. Additionally,
this slow process further adds to grievances of the employees because the workload is not
shared which is another reason that they feel their personal and professional life unbalancing
each other and that has an impact on the total productivity of the organization. This impact can
be summarized in the following chart.

Slow Decreased
Employee
recruitment employee
Grievances
process productivity

Workload on Work/life Decreased

employees imbalance organizational
performance

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 Causes Effect

External

Lack of qualified
applicants Sheer volume of
candidates to
review
Judgment on experience v/s
potential basis
Slow process of
Search for Person - recruitment
Position "fitment"
Recruitment for
distant areas
Time-Taking process

Internal

Figure 1- Root-cause Analysis of Slow Process of recruitment through

Fishbone Diagram

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Problem 2- Grievances Handling

Engro Foods Limited is at the stage of expansion. According to a Financial Analyst 1, overall sales
of EFL have increased by 42.5% as compared to 2010.
EFL has gone global by acquiring US-based Al-Safa, halal
food business in North America. Not only this, a
number of food products are to be launched in the
coming time. Because of this expansion, employees at
Engro Food are feeling aggrieved because there is lot of
workload due to expanded business. This workload is
hitting the balance of their personal and professional
life. This has created the demand on part of the employees for increments with respect to
increase in job size. The situation is resulting in employer-employee relationship conflicts at
every level of management.

International Labor Organization (ILO) defines grievance as “a complaint of one or more

workers related to:

Wages and allowances

Conditions of work
Interpretation of service conditions covering such as Leave, Transfer, Promotion,
Seniority, Job Assignment and Termination of Services.”

All the above reasons are applicable in case of EFL because of business expansion.

Following can be the possible reasons for Grievances at EFL

Grievances resulting from working conditions:

Improper matching of the worker with the job

Changes in schedule or procedure
Non-availability of proper tools, machines and equipment for doing the job.
Unreasonably high production standards

27 | P a g e
 Poor working conditions
Bad-employer-employee relationship

Grievances resulting from management policy:

Wage payments and job rates

Leave
Overtime
Seniority and Promotion
Transfer
Disciplinary Action
Lack of employee Development Plan
Lack of role clarity

Grievances resulting from personal maladjustment:

Over-ambition
Excessive self-esteem
Impractical attitude to life

It is not necessary that all of the causes will exist in an organization simultaneously. It is also
possible that causes other than those mentioned above are contributing to grievances. The key
is to rule out the real cause, target it directly and fix it completely gradually. With special
reference to EFL, relocation of employees, package, lack of role clarity, unhealthy relationships
between employees, imbalance between job and study, imbalance between work and personal
life, workload and unexpected changes in work are few of the causes which contribute to
grievances.

IMPACT OF THE PROBLEM ON THE COMPANY

Every human being, be he C.E.O. of any company or just a junior level clerk, seeks happiness by
living and enjoying life with his immediate family members. But too much of work can sneak

28 | P a g e
quality time one can spend with family, leaving the state of mind disturbed and unsound. This
can directly affect productivity on part of employees. If employee does not give 100% input at
work, productivity of the organization on the whole will be affected. The revenue per employee
will decrease. Here, in this case, productivity of staff at EFL is affected which is resulting in
another problem, i.e. high turnover rate among employees. Retention strategies are in process
and EFL is striving to curb the issues resulting in grievances of employees. One problem is
paving the way to another problem. High turnover rate is causing lot of costs for the company
and HR is shifting its attention from training and development and succession planning t to
replacing quits and recruiting people.

Decreased Frequent thoughts

Grievances of quiting
productivity

Dissatisfied Low Employee Loss of potential

employees Morale and employee
Motivation

29 | P a g e
 Causes Effect

Because of management
policies

Lack of role clarity

Package
Relocation
Promotion

Grievances
Unexpected changes in
work
Imbalance between
Imbalance between job and study
work and life
Workload

Because of working conditions

Figure 2- Root-cause Analysis of Grievance through Fishbone Diagram

30 | P a g e
Problem 3- Succession Planning

Succession planning is a process of identifying future leaders

of the organization and developing them so they are ready to
move into leadership roles. In this process, the organization
reviews its strategic plan, analyze its current workforce,
forecast future human resource needs and develop
employees accordingly. Mark E. Christensen, Director of HR
4
partnerships, SHRM comments that “Great Succession
Planning enables an organization to maximize its bench strength and tap into its organizational
talent pool in order to stay competitive and to adjust to demographic shifts and changes in the
5
workforce”. An article “Succession Planning: Current Trends” of Insala, a leading global
solutions provider of career development, mentoring and career transition for organizations
speaks about the significance of succession planning by quoting the findings of a research study

31 | P a g e
according to which organizations consistently using a formal process to help workers advance,
are also consistency high-performing firms. Succession planning on its part motivates
employees by helping them advance in their profession after giving them a career path and
allowing them to move in that specific path. Directions if are clear, can help advance at a faster
rate.

High Turnover rate

At EFL, succession planning is an issue because of a number of reasons. Though the company’s
long term goral is expansion but it has not worked much in succession planning. Successors can
only be planned and developed if they retain. The turnover rate at EFL is high. Annual turnover
rate is around 17%. Employees are leaving the organization at every level of management
because of grievances due to excessive workload because there is already shortage of staff.
Secondly, employees are mostly from cities. So, when they are relocated, they are not happy
with their jobs. Relocating employees at its plants is something EFL cannot avoid if it is to run its
operations. This should be communicated to employees who have chances of being relocated
at different plants; right at the time of joining the company otherwise employees leave on
being relocated as happens in this company. Package is another important factor because of
which employees leave the organization because of which it is not possible to identify and
develop successors.

Lack of Training and Development

Succession planning requires commitment of the managers whose successors are to be

identified and developed. In many cases, managers do not take part in building skills in the
identified successors because they wish to reserve all their skills and competencies. They do not
want to retire from their position and do not want any one to replace them because they enjoy
their legitimate powers, position and package. Because of this reason, many competent and
potential employees are not given training. At EFL, the same case follows. It is the
organizational politics which determines who is to be trained and who is not to be. Employees
at EFL lodge complaints about the training and mentoring they receive from their supervisors.
In some cases, supervisors are willing to develop skills in employees but employees are not

32 | P a g e
capable or competent enough to be trained. This presents another hurdle in succession
planning.

No proper succession planning policy in place

For succession planning, there needs to be a proper policy of succession planning in place. At
EFL, one major cause of lack of proper succession planning is the lack of policy of succession
planning. The company has not worked in formulating any policy in this regard. Support from
top management is lacking because of which not much work has been done. Though company
has recently entered in commodity market, but is not correctly identifying the future human
needs. Skill inventory though is maintained but that skill inventory is not utilized to spot
employees with exceptional qualities and competencies. Skill inventory is only being used to
replace quits and for transferring employees as needed.

IMPACT OF IMPROPER SUCCESSION PLANNING ON THE COMPANY

Because of improper succession planning, the company is suffering from dearth of

management level employees. As stated earlier, employees at all levels of management are
leaving the organization. First there are issues in retention strategy. Secondly, not many
successors are developed to replace quits. At this point in time, EFL is going through many
problem related to human resource simultaneously. Because of this reason, not for all, but for
many senior level positions, candidates are recruited from external sources too. The company is
in profit when it retains its people and promotes them according to their performance,
providing them growth and learning opportunities. Though such opportunities are, to an extent,
provided to employees, here at EFL too, but not to the optimal level. Since there is lack of policy
of succession planning, potential employees do not find their career path identified by the
company for their growth which decreases their morale and motivation level. This results in
grievances and frequent thoughts of switching the organization for better package and learning
opportunities. This way, the company loses its potential employees who are actually
performing well in the organization but just because there is lack of employee development

33 | P a g e
 plan, they leave. Following chart summarizes the impact of succession planning on the
company.

Improper Low Employee Frequent thoughts

Succession Morale and of quiting
Planning Motivation

Unidentified Lack of learning Loss of potential

career path for and growth employee
employees opportunities

34 | P a g e
 Causes Effect

Lack of Training and

Development

Lack of company vision Incompetent employees

and failure to address for training
future needs Lack of guidance from
supervisors

Lack of defined career

pathways
Improper
No proper succession
planning policy in place succession
Workload
planning
Package issues
Lack of support from top
management Working at distant
locations

High Turnover rate

Figure 3- Root-cause Analysis of Improper Succession Planning through

Fishbone Diagram

35 | P a g e
Problem 4- Turnover Rate
Employees are the most valuable asset to any organization. When an employee leaves an
organization, the organization loses precious skills, techniques and knowledge that are
otherwise employed while the employee is working for the company. Besides, retention of
employees is highly critical for a company because company spends lot of cost on training
employees and develops their competencies to help them deliver their best inputs at work. But
if there are so many things that the company offers to the employee, then what makes the
employee leave the organization? The answer lies in research studies conducted on employees
of different organization which revealed that high turnover rate is directly proportional to job
dissatisfaction, job stress and imbalance between work and life.

EFL is operating in a highly competitive environment. The competitors’ eyes are on EFL human
resource and employees turnover rate increases when the competitors offer competitive jobs
with market-competitive packages. Each employee wishes to be paid a handsome salary as
much high as possible and it is human nature that he/she will choose job which has better
package to offer. Additionally, lack of care for employees on part of employer is another major
reason why employees quit working in any organization. At EFL, grievance handling is an issue.
Problems faced by employees which are reported too, when are not addressed and resolved,
then employees feel that they are not valuable. This perception towards their organization
becomes a push factor to leave company.

At EFL, there is lack of proper retention strategy. No doubt, every employee regardless of the
company in which he/she is working will be offered a handsome package by a competing firm
to leave the current organization and join them. But in order to curtail this external effect, the
management of the organization should exercise retention strategy. The employee usually
leaves the company for better package, better growth opportunities and career development.
But at EFL, employees are offered packages according to classification levels (CL) and
employees may not be satisfied with what they are getting. As for training and development, at
EFL, training sessions though are arranged for employees but still there is a dearth of proper
training plans. Late promotion is another reason which hampers career development of

36 | P a g e
employees pushing them to leave the company. A fishbone diagram of High Turnover rate
follows this discussion. Following costs are incurred by the company when an employee leaves
the organization according to Hinkin and Tracey 2.

Turnover Cost Categories

Separation costs
Exit interviewer
Employee exit interview
Paperwork processing
Severance pay

Recruiting and attracting costs

Advertising
Search and agency fees
Internal referral fees
Managerial pre-employment administrative functions
Applicant travel and Recruiter travel
Miscellaneous (correspondence, telephone, couriers)
HR pre-employment administrative functions
Recruiter time

Selection costs
HR interview And Managerial interview
Applicant travel
Background and reference checks
Medical exam
HR and Managerial administrative functions

Hiring costs
HR and Managerial administrative functions
Relocation costs
Signing bonus
Orientation and Formal training
On-the-job training
Uniforms
Security
Informational literature

Lost-productivity costs
Vacancy cost
Pre-departure productivity loss
Learning curve (cost incurred and lost revenue)
Errors and waste
Supervisory disruption
37 | P a g e Peer disruption
According to a research study conducted by Abbasi and Hollman 4, when an organization loses a
critical employee, there is negative impact on innovation, consistency in providing service to
guests may be jeopardized, and major delays in the delivery of services to customers may
occur.

IMPACT OF HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER RATE ON COMPANY

Just like in all other companies, high employee turnover rate at EFL also results in loss of skills
and knowledge that the leaving employee has. The company loses a competitive advantage
when the employee quits. The cost incurred on training and development of the employee is
lost when the developed employee leaves. Moreover, the company has to replace quits and for
that purpose, additional costs are incurred in the process of recruitment and selection. The HR
personnel time is also used in all these activities which is highly valuable. The new employee
which replaces the former employee has to be trained to perform his job and for this again, the
company incurs cost. The new employee takes time to develop expertise and perfection in his
work and to produce the standard output. Bill Bliss, President of Bliss & Associates Inc., a South
Carolina consulting firm providing advisory services to entrepreneurial companies is also an
article writer. He comments in his article “Cost of Employee Turnover” saying that the cost of
employee turnover is near about 150% of the employee annual compensation figure and this
cost is higher for managerial and sales position. Applying this in companies in Pakistan including
EFL, suppose if an employee’s salary is 500,000/- per annum, then the employee turnover rate
as per 150% concept will be 750,000/-. In addition to this, there are hidden costs such as
productivity loss, workplace safety issues, and morale damage.
The annual turnover rate in EFL is 17% which means that every year, 17% of the total workforce
leaves the company. Now, if EFL has a total of 1376 employees which is the current number,
then this year around 234 employees will leave the company and there will be different
turnover cost of each employee depending upon the annual compensation figure of that
employee which in total makes a huge amount for EFL to spend.

38 | P a g e
 Causes Effect

Management

Unrealistic Job
Lack of care for Preview
employees
Lack of
Retention
Lack of employee Strategy
Development Plan
High Turnover
Desire for better Rate
opportunity and career Unmet needs of
development employees

Desire for better

package Excessive workload

Individual

Figure 4- Root-cause Analysis of High Turnover rate through Fishbone

Diagram

39 | P a g e
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recruitment and Selection

The name of EFL in market is renowned because it comes under the umbrella of
Engro Corporation. Whenever any new job opportunity is advertised, a large volume
of candidates apply for that post. Now this problem can be resolved by putting an
online application form. Applicants who wish to apply for any post will fill that form.
There will be clear questions about education and experience in years. For both
education and experience, there should be dropdown menus. For any particular job,
les say, for the post of Nutritionist, Research and Development, the form should
have a fixed criterion that the candidate should choose M.Sc. Food and Nutrition. If
any candidate selects any other education, like M.Sc. Applied Chemistry, M.Sc,
Microbiology, etc., then at the time of form submission, there will be a notice by the
website that your education does not match our criteria for this job. Similarly, for
experience, there will be options in numbers of years like 1-2 years, 3-4 years, 5-7
years, etc. Candidates will have to choose their experience and the form will be
submitted only if their experience matches the criterion of the job. This way, only
those candidates, who have that particular education, will be able to submit forms.
Irrelevant application forms will not be received.

There are certain positions for which it becomes quite difficult to get the right
candidate. For this problem, the recruiter should utilize online websites and
approach people. For example, if EFL wants to recruit Research and Development
Manager who must have a degree in Food Science and Technology and experience of
10 years in milk processing industry, then such a person can be found out on
professional communities like LinkedIn and Byte.com Every professional manages
his profile on such websites. On LinkedIn, there are filters through which we can
search people from any industry. The profile exhibits education and experience with
little details as provided by the professional. There are options to contact such
people right there on LinkedIn. Contact details can be exchanged once the recruiter

40 | P a g e
 informs the candidates about the vacant post and if the candidate would like to
apply. This can help EFL in approaching the candidates that are difficult to find.
The recruiter sometimes comes across candidates who do not have required
experience but they have to potential to move ahead in career. Now this becomes a
difficult situation for recruiters to judge the candidate. Such candidates should only
be interviewed if they have been referred by a loyal trustworthy employee. But his
words should not be solely relied on. They should be thoroughly reviewed in
interview and their diagnostic and employment tests should be little different.
These candidates should be judged for higher potential and if they clear these tests,
then experience should not be considered.
For recruiting employees for distant places like Sukkur, Sahiwal, Dharki, etc. local
people should be chosen and if local candidates are not available or are available but
are not suitable for the job, then candidates from major cities should be recruited
but in this case, they should be offered higher packages than normal.
There are a lot of steps in recruitment and
selection process which is actually not a
problem. The problem is the long time taken in
carrying out all the steps. Usually a managerial
post is to be filled after 30 -35 days of
requisition from the department and a non-
managerial post is filled within 15-20 days time
after the requisition has been received from the
Department Head. In actual, more than the
mentioned take is taken to hire the right candidate. A few posts have also taken
months to be filled. Now the solution to this problem is the preparation of a
recruitment calendar, separate for each position. The HR Officer should make a
calendar in which different steps should be highlighted date-wise and this should be
done right after the requisition is received. For example, as displayed in picture, the
interview has been fixed on 22nd of the month. This will help the HR Officer
complete the recruitment and selection process I the given time. Plus, this will also

41 | P a g e
 be an indicator of the performance of the HR Officer because ultimately, recruitment
and selection is the function that he has to perform in his job.

A sample designed calendar is as follows:

Calendar of Job Ref:026548

Position and Department: Nutritionist (R&D) Date: April 15, 2012

Level: Managerial Classification Level: 23 Maximum Period: 35 days

Month Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

01 02 03 04 05

06 07 08 09 10 11 12
Apr

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

01 02 03

04 05 06 07 08 09 10
May

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

42 | P a g e
 Date-wise Steps of Recruitment and Selection
Tentative Date Tasks to be completed

April 15 Requisition submission

April 16-April 23 Advertisement of position, University Visits, Consultants, HR database to

get a pool of candidates

April 24-April 25 Review of applications and shortlisting

April 27 Informing the shortlisted candidates for appearing in I.Q. test

April 30 Conducting I.Q. tests

May 02 Informing the candidates who have cleared the test to appear in
interview

May 04 Initial interview

May 06 Informing the candidates who have cleared the initial interview to
appear in interview with Head of HR.

May 08 Interview with HR Head/ Department Head And Functional Department

Head

May 11 Reference Check (if all interviews are cleared)

May 11 Informing the candidate to appear for Medical examination in a hospital

and submit the reports.

May 18 Submission of medical reports by the candidate

May 20 Offer given to the selected Candidate

43 | P a g e
Grievances Handling

Compensation should be determined based on job sizes (the knowledge the

employee has, the problem-solving ability and the authority delegated to him
because of the responsibility which lies on his shoulders being on that particular
position.

Whenever any employee leaves the organization and his work is assigned to other
employees who are already assigned their own work, then such employees should
be given additional incentives. Additional responsibilities assigned to the employees
will increase the job size and hence, compensation will be increased accordingly.
The will justify the extra workload but this is not the solution of the problem. Quits
should be replaced and employees should be recruited as per need because
constantly extra workload will cause imbalance between personal and professional
life.

While recruiting employees, they should be asked whether they would resist if they
are relocated somewhere else, may be in other city or country, if needed due to
business expansion. Such positions in which there are chances of relocation should
be filled only if the candidate agrees to be relocated if needed. Preference should be
given to local candidates because in that case, there will be no relocation grievances.
If an employee-job fit cannot be achieved with a local candidate, then only
candidates from cities should be hired but such relocated employees should be
given incentives for being relocated.

Though proper Job Descriptions (JD) are given to each employee but those job
descriptions are not updated when additional tasks are assigned to employee. What
is not written is not understood and is not done and will not be recognized. For
employees, verbal directions of work create confusion. Therefore, all the additional

44 | P a g e
 responsibilities should be jot down in JD and it should regularly be updated. This
will make the role of the employees very much clear and candid.

Employees’ grievances are also due to the imbalance between work and life and that
imbalance is because too much workload snatches the quality time one can enjoy
with family. At first, every employee should be directed by the immediate
supervisor the timeframe of the tasks assigned to that employee .All the employees
should be strictly informed that they have to complete their tasks of the day till 5:30
and 6:00 pm at maximum. If employee is taking more than the mentioned hours,
then the root-cause should be traced. It may be that the employee needs training to
give his fast input or may be he is loaded with extra work and there needs another
employee to be recruited to share workload. Taking more than the mentioned time
may be because of ergonomics of the workplace. All the employees who are to be in
close coordination should sit in close cubicles which will facilitate coordination. The
HR person should keep a check on postures, physical environment, light, heat and
power availability for work.

If there are employees who are also studying along with job, then at first, inform
such employees clearly before joining the company that their studies will not
interfere in their work and that their work hours should be dedicated for work and
they wont study during this time. Secondly, such employees should be allowed to
leave at noon on weekend (Saturday) to let them study. Preferably they should not
be called on Saturday but only when there is a dire need. If such an employee has to
go through some exam due to studies, they should be given preparation leave of at
least a day before exam and on the day of exam. By doing so, employees will
perceive organizational support.

Unexpected change margin should always be added in work. Some extra hours
(may be 1-2) with no work assigned in those hours should be included in total
working hours each day. This means that each employee should be given tasks

45 | P a g e
 which can be completed in 6 hours time each day. One hour goes in lunch and
Prayer and 2 hours will be extra hours in which the employee will be performing
some of the unexpected tasks which are assigned to him without planning. In the
total of 9 hours time at work, the employee will be able to perform all his planned
tasks, will take one hour break, will complete unexpected tasks and will also comply
with unexpected changes in the work.

Above all, a proper Grievance policy should be formulated according to which

employees’ grievances should be resolved within a time period of 1 week to 4 weeks
depending upon the reason of grievance.

Succession Planning

Successors can only be made if employees retain in the organization. High turnover
rate at EFL is causing problems for succession planning. Therefore it is
recommended to implement retention strategies and formulate proper grievance
policies to resolve employees’ issues. Right compensation should be given to
employees and that too should be determined on employee’s knowledge, problem
solving ability and authority. Workload if not manageable should be shared equally
among employees and all the work assigned to each individual should be noted
down to appraise them on their performance. If the employee is to be relocated, this
should be communicated to employees beforehand. Performance Management can
reveal who among all employees is best at what skills and how those skills can be
utilized for the good of the employee as well as the organization.

For a healthy succession planning, the supervisors should be given additional tasks
of teaching new skills to their selected subordinates and should take those sub-
ordinates on new projects which require utilization of those skills. Supervisor’s
performance appraisal should be 360 degree appraisal in which subordinates will
be appraising supervisor for his guidance on new projects. The increments of the

46 | P a g e
 supervisors should be based on how much they are towards developing their
successors.

Most important of all, there should be a proper succession policy in place according
to which each critical position holder should generate 2 successors before he retires.
HR Department should be provided support from the top management for
succession planning. Periodic training sessions should be arranged for employees
who are to develop as successors. The HR department and the top management
should work together to review the company’s vision and mission and should align
their strategy with that of the company to meet future human resource needs. For
this reason, every month, a meeting should be called which will be attended by
heads of all departments. In these meetings, performance of all departments in
developing successors will be discussed.

Employee Turnover

In order to decrease the turnover rate, the company should implement retention
strategy. Such strategy calls for designing exit interview and employee surveys to
ascertain the reasons for leaving the organization and then that problem should be
directly targeted. As a part of retention strategy, the compensation should be
increased if affordable for the company and if the employee has such potential and
talent which is difficult to replace. Such employees should be offered perks and
benefits. The HR Department should plan a career path for such employee to satisfy
his professional need of growth and advancement.

Turnover rate increases when the employees’ job expectations don’t match with
work experiences. Therefore, while interviewing the candidates, the employee
should be informed about both the positive and negative aspects of the job. Negative
aspects of the job might include information about relocation, time and performance
level required for promotion incase if it will take high performance and long time to
the next level on hierarchy, work hours, outdoor activities, etc. should be

47 | P a g e
 communicated clearly well before any final decision by the candidate is taken
because such information may influence the decision of candidate of job offer
acceptance or rejection.

Employees stay with the organization only when they feel that they are taken care of
by their organization. Employees should be provided recreational opportunities like
participation in sports including, cricket, football and tennis matches, picnics,
annual dinner, Eid Milan parties, etc. to make employees feel that they are a part of
the family.

The HR department should periodically conduct Performance Management to

review the progress of performance of employees. This will help the department
identify the potential candidates who have the ability to learn and lead in the future
and take the company in new direction of market leadership. Such employees
should be given training and a proper development plan should be prepared,
highlighting their career path and according to the future positions that they will be
holding, they should be given training in those areas in particular.

Frequent employee surveys should be carried out to find out how employees feel
about their organizations. Employees may be unhappy because their needs are not
met and they are not able to maintain work/life balance. Employees’ needs can be
both personal need (compensation and reward) and professional need (career
growth and advancement). Both types of needs should be addressed. Satisfying both
types of needs will help EFL develop successors for future.

48 | P a g e
 ACTION PLAN FOR IMPROVING RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
PROCESS

Q1 12 Q2 12
Action Plan for Improvement Recruitment and
ID Responsibility Start Finish Outcome
Selection Process Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

It will prevent sheer volume of

Developing an online job application form and HR Head and IT
1 1/2/2012 1/30/2012 applying candidates. Only right
application database Department
candidates will be able to apply

Talent Acquisition Greater pool of talented and

2 Use of different channels for recruitment 1/2/2012 2/29/2012
Manager qualified candidates
Thorough interview of the
3 Hire Recruitment Consultants GM HR 3/1/2012 3/30/2012 candidate will help in judging
potential of the interviewee
Head of HR and
4 Hire local candidates 4/2/2012 5/30/2012 Decreased turnover rate
Department Head
Prepare a recruitment calendar for each Timely recruitment of candidates
5 HR Officer 4/2/2012 4/30/2012
vacant post which is to be filled without unnecessary delays.

It will help to retain employees

because with increased job size,
Develop career path for employees who can
they will get increased
6 replace the quits and retired employees GM-HR 5/1/2012 7/30/2012
compensation and with a vision
(succession Planning)
for their career in the same
company

49 | P a g e
 ACTION PLAN FOR GRIEVANCE HANDLING

Q1 12 Q2 12
ID Action Plan for Grievance Handling Responsibility Start Finish Outcome
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Employees will have no query

Analyzing Job size and Setting Compensation and grievance about package as
1 GM-HR 1/2/2012 2/1/2012
accordingly these will be logically base on job
size
Employee.
Additional tasks done by the
Update the JDs of the employees who are Approved by
2 2/1/2012 3/29/2012 employees will also be noted and
given additional tasks. Department Head
recognized
and HR Head
Less grievances because the
Hire local candidates for position which are GM-HR and
3 3/1/2012 3/29/2012 candidate will be in his local
based in Sahiwal and Sukkur Department Head
environment

The employees will complete all

Planning timeframe of tasks for each assigned tasks in the given time
4 Supervisor 3/1/2012 3/29/2012
employee and will be able to maintain a
work/life balance

Policy will be helpful to act in the

5 Formulating Grievance Policy GM-HR 2/1/2012 5/30/2012 benefit of the company as well as
of the employees.

Prepare a promotion plan for each employee Employees will be motivated to

and sharing that with employee to let him see that they have a chance of
6 GM-HR 4/2/2012 6/29/2012
know where he stands and when promotion growth and development in the
can be expected same organization

50 | P a g e
 ACTION PLAN FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING

Q1 12 Q2 12
ID Action Plan for Succession Planing Responsibility Start Finish Outcome
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Retained employees will be

Formulating and implementing a retention
1 GM-HR 1/2/2012 1/30/2012 developed as successors if they
strategy
have the true potential

Employees will retain if they get

the best package and will
Revise compensation based on increased job
2 GM-HR 2/1/2012 2/29/2012 develop skills in the same
size
company and become
successors

Successors will be able to give

Plan a program for the development of the same level on input as was
3 GM-HR 3/1/2012 4/30/2012
employees’ skills in specific areas. given by those who have been
replaced

Potential successors will be

Develop a career path for potential
familiar with their own progress
4 successors and keep them abreast of their GM-HR 4/2/2012 8/29/2012
and will get to know where they
progress
stand

Assign the responsibility of skill development

and knowledge transfer to potential Role of supervisor in succession
5 GM-HR 2/1/2012 5/30/2012
successors on immediate supervisors whose planning will be ensured
successors are to be developed

Supervisors will be motivated as

Appraise performance of the supervisors
more they impart knowledge and
6 based on how they have helped the GM-HR 3/1/2012 5/30/2012
skills, more they will be
organization in succession planning
appreciated

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 ACTION PLAN FOR REDUCING EMPLOYEE ATTRITION

Q1 12 Q2 12
ID Action Plan for Reducing Employee Attrition Responsibility Start Finish Outcome
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Employees will be loyal to the

Promoting the sense of Perceived
1 HE Head 1/2/2012 2/29/2012 company when they themselves
Organizational Support
will be motivated

Employees will retain when they

will get competitive packages in
Align EFL’s salary structure with the market
2 GM-HR 1/2/2012 3/30/2012 the same organization where
survey
they have been working for the
last few years.

3 Develop and implement retention strategy GM-HR 3/1/2012 4/30/2012 Attrition rate will reduce

Candidates expectations of job

Redesign job interviews and including a and work experiences will match
4 GM-HR 4/2/2012 4/30/2012
realistic job preview in them and hence there will be
infrequent thoughts of quitting

Training and This will help in assuring time-to-

Develop a training calendar for potential
5 Development 4/2/2012 5/30/2012 time skill building in employees
employees
Manager and will motivate employees

Develop career path for employees who can Enhance motivation level
6 replace the quits and retired employees GM-HR 5/1/2012 7/30/2012 because this will grow employee
(succession Planning) professionally

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CONCLUSION

To conclude, Engro Foods Limited is a growing company with its operations expanding not only
in Pakistan, but also outside Pakistan. Though the company has shown tremendous and
remarkable performance in the last few years but there are issues associated with the
employees of the organization and therefore, Human Resource Management is a critical area to
work upon as all excellence that the company can show depends mostly on what employees
will do for EFL. A chain of problems exists in HR at EFL which is affecting the daily operations of
the company. All the problems are interconnected and one is paving the way for another and
hence, thorough analysis of each problem can help to initiate resolving these and action plan
executed for one will solve another as well, provided top management support is available. Not
only HR Department, but each and every employee of the company needs to take part in this
exercise of implementing problem-solving techniques to achieve holistic results and along with
this, technical assistance from outside Consultants will be an added advantage for the
company. Concurrent and Feedback control need to be implemented necessarily so as to
closely monitor the progress towards the goals to resolve HR problems and prevent any
deviations.

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REFERENCES
1. Mohammad Ibrahim, Assistant Manager, Talent Acquisition, Human Resource
Department, Engro Foods Limited.
2. Rizwan Siddiqui, Independent Financial Analyst
3. Hinkin, T.R., and J.B. Tracey. (2000). The cost of turnover: Putting a price on the learning
curve. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 41 (3): 14-21.
4. Abbasi, S., & Hollman, K. (2000). Turnover: The Real Bottom-line. Public Personnel
Management, 29(3), 333-342.
5. Atwood, C.G. (2007) Succession Planning Basics American Society for Training and
Development p-109
6. Hewitt associates (2003) succession planning: Current Trends, Insala. Available at
http://www.insala.com/Articles/succession-planning/succession-planning-current-
trends.asp (Last retrieved: April 09, 2012)

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