HR scenarios – Morale Influenc

1. Newco is hiring 400 new employees to open two new offices. The new hires are concerned that they are going to work only 35 hours weekly, which prevents them from being included in the company’s benefit package. If the organization maintains this philosophy, what is the long term influence on turnover? How will this influence morale of those employees who remain as employees?

2. Your organization has a history of giving employees salary increases based on years of service (tenure), and not based on performance. You have been assigned to a team that is charged with making recommendations on how to change salary increases based on tenure to pay-for-performance. What recommendations and steps of action would you make in making this change? How do you think the workers will receive this new structure?

3. Scott has been hired by your organization and has worked for you for nine months. He soon begins reporting he has hurt his back while on the job. After numerous sick days and trips to the doctor, Scott returns. You work as a manager for the organization. While at a trade association conference in another city, you happen to meet several people who know Scott, and who also worked with him in the past. They begin telling stories about how he always claimed to be hurt or sick and filed numerous worker compensation claims. You learn that the organization gave him a hefty settlement to take care of all of his distress and pain. While you have no clear proof that Scott is getting ready to file worker compensation claims at your organization, you believe that Scott’s recent work behaviors are strikingly similar to those that his previous co-workers had discussed with you. What concerns you about this situation? What do you do with this new information?

4. The Chesapeake Chicken plant employs 5,000 workers. People come from all over the country to work at this plant. Chesapeake is known for hiring illegal aliens to work at the plant, but this has never been proven.

You have been hired by Chesapeake Chicken and work in the Health and Safety Department. You’ve noticed that accident reports have increased from 25 annually to 200. During your investigation, you discover that machinery is broken and/or is not working properly. In some cases there are no safety guards. During interviews, you learn that workers have been afraid to report these problems for fear they would not make production quotas, or that they might be terminated. You also find out that some workers who were hurt did not document their accidents and continued working regardless of the accident.

What kind of checks and balances can an internal Health and Safety Division put in place in order to prevent this from happening again?