Employee Onboarding and Development at Resonate Technologies: A Report

This report examines the human resource management challenges faced by Resonate Technologies, a software company based in Singapore. The primary issues identified include problems with employee onboarding, lack of effective learning and development processes, and inadequate career management strategies, all contributing to increased employee turnover. The report emphasizes the importance of effective onboarding processes in reducing turnover, increasing employee productivity, and enhancing employer branding. It also highlights the consequences of neglecting these processes, such as a shrinking talent pool and increased attrition rates. Furthermore, the report underscores the significance of learning and development programs in ensuring employees possess the necessary skills to adapt to changing market demands. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the company's current situation and suggests best practices for improvement, offering valuable insights for Resonate Technologies to address its HRM issues and improve employee retention.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
The competitiveness of the contemporary business organizations is being determined by
the way their employees are being managed. This is due to the reason that the more effective will
be the employee management processes, the more will be their productivity and efficiency
towards their workplace. In addition, in the recent time the competition in the market got
increased with the presence of good number of organizations operating in different sectors. Thus,
each of these organizations is looking out for newer strategies to attract the best talent and retain
them (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014). This will also require effective human resource
management to have the long term benefits. On the other hand, globalization has led the
emergence of the concepts of multinational and global organizations, which are having their
operations in global scale and having diverse workforce. The employees in these organizations
are from different social and cultural backgrounds and with having different sets of approaches.
Hence, it is important for the business organizations to manage them as per their respective
cultural and social trends to maximize their productivity.
Resonate technologies are one of the leading software companies operating in the South
East Asian markets. They are based in Singapore. They are known for their effective
management of their employees, which is reflecting in their favorable organizational
performances. However, in the last five years, this trend is changing with the increase in the rate
of employee turnover (Hancock et al. 2013). This is also creating dent in their employer branding
and will have long term impact of not being mitigated immediately. Internal audit is being done
and it is identified that there are issues in on boarding process, development process and career
management process, which are causing attrition of the employees. Thus, these issues should be
mitigated in an urgent basis.

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This paper will discuss about the importance of having effective process of on boarding
of the new employees and their development process. Moreover, the major issues that are being
faced by Resonate technologies will also be identified. Based on these issues, the probable
consequences and he best practices that should be followed will be evaluated in this report.
Identification of issues
Prior to the discussion regarding the importance of different elements of human resource
management, it is important to identify the exact issues being faced by Resonate technologies.
One of the major issues being faced by them is in terms of their on-boarding process. It is
identified that the newly appointed employees are not being communicated properly about the
needs and requirements from their respective job profiles. Moreover, there are no instances of
initiating rapport building between the new and existing employees. Thus, without the proper
awareness about the requirements of the job profile, new employees cannot get matched with
that of the organizational requirements and leave their workplace. On the other hand, due to lack
of coordination and rapport with the existing employees, new employees are not feeling
comfortable in their new workplace and cooperation among them is getting affected. This is also
causing demoralization of the new employees and attrition of them.
Another major issue of them identified is in terms of learning and development process.
This is due to the fact that new employees are not having the access to proper training and
development process in the workplace. Resonate technologies does not follow uniform approach
of training and development for their new employees and this is creating gap between the desired
skills and actual skill sets of the new employees. On the other hand, lack of proper learning
environment in the workplace is also demoralizing the existing employees. This is due to the

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reason that current market situations are rapidly changing and the skill sets of the employees
should also get developed with it. However, with the absence of proper learning environment in
the workplace, existing employees are being able to cope up with the change and thus they feel
isolated in their workplace. This is further contributing in the increase of employee turnover for
Resonate technologies.
The last issue for Resonate technologies is being identified in terms career management.
This refers to the fact that employees in the recent time are having more opportunities from
different organizations and thus are having the expectations of their career development. It is
important for Resonate technologies to have proper mechanism for career development of their
employees where the employees will have the opportunities for promotion and climbing the
hierarchy levels. However, it is identified that in the case of Resonate technologies, employees
are not being provided with proper career growth plan. Moreover, there are number of instances
where it is seen that existing employees working for number of years have witnessed any growth
in terms of hierarchy level of remuneration. This is motivating them to change organization and
opting for better opportunities.
Importance of on boarding process
In the current business scenario, there are number of advantages that can be gained by
having effective process of on boarding in the organization. According to Cable, Gino and Staats
(2013), one of the major benefits that can be gained by having proper on boarding process in the
workplace is reducing the turnover rate in the workplace. This is due to the reason that with
having effective process of boarding process for the new employees, they will have more
favorable impression towards the new process. It is also reported by the authors that as per the

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survey, more than 85 percent of the new employees tends to stay with the same organization if
they can be engaged from the initial stage. Thus, with the help of the on boarding process,
Resonate Technologies will be able to have motivated and engaged employees from the very first
stage. This will reduce their rate of employee turnover. On the other hand, it is stated by Ross,
Huang and Jones (2014) that with the help of proper on boarding process, Resonate technologies
will be able to increase the employee productivity in minimal time. This is due to the reason that
with the help of the effective on boarding process, new employees will be able to build better
rapport with the existing ones and to have the better understanding about the organizational
processes and practices. Thus, as per the authors, the new employees will feel more engaged and
involved in the new organizational structure and will likely to stay with. Moreover, Fagerholm et
al. (2014) stated that more than 90 percent of the new employees decide their intention to stay
with the organization within the first 6 months of their recruitment. Thus, the more effective will
be the on boarding process, the more will be the chances for positive decision by the newly
inducted employees.
On boarding process should be effective in order to enhance the employer branding.
From the perspective of current business state of affairs, managing the employer branding is
important to attract better talents to the organization and retain them. It is stated by Carter (2015)
that with the help of the effective and productive on boarding process, newly inducted employees
will be more motivated and engaged in their workplace, which will in turn help in generating
positive word of mouth among the potential candidates. Thus, the employer branding of
Resonate technologies that is being lost in the last few years can be regained. However, apart
from the above opinions being given by the authors, there are few authors who have given
different opinions. For instance, Serbin and Jensen (2013) stated that presence of effective

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process of on boarding is not enough for the organizations rather there are different steps that
should also be maintained and in having the maximum benefits from on boarding. They have
stated that the approach of the on boarding process should be in line to the organizational
requirements. This is due to the reason that different organizations are having different sets of
requirements and based on those, the on boarding strategies should be designed. In the case of
Resonate technologies, employees should be made aware about the job requirements and how the
organization is going enhance their skill sets in meeting these requirements. This will only
ensure that the on boarding process is having effectiveness. While it is also stated by the authors
that if the approach and elements of the on boarding process are not getting matched with that of
the organizational requirements then the chances of success will be low.
Consequences of not implementing on boarding process
This should be noted by the senior managers of Resonate technologies that there will be
majorly negative impacts for not implementing the effective process of on boarding process. This
is due to the reason that without the presence of on boarding process, the distance between the
new employees and the existing internal stakeholders cannot be reduced. As per Steinmacher,
Gerosa and Redmiles (2014), without the help of on boarding process, Resonate technologies
will not be able to have larger talent pools for recruitment and selection. This is due to the reason
that lack of on boarding process will generate negative word of mouth from the newly inducted
employees and potential candidates will not get attracted by this. Thus, as per the authors, this
will cause Resonate in facing inadequate eligible candidates in the future. In addition, it should
also be noted that Resonate technologies are planning to expand their business beyond their
existing markets and this will require more human resources. However, the inadequate talent
pool will pose challenge for them to meet the increasing demand for human resources.

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It is also being stated by Renz et al. (2014) that the current issue of high level of
employee turnover will further amplified if the on boarding process is not being implemented
properly. This is due to the reason that without the presence of proper on boarding process, new
employees will find it difficult to get accustomed with the process and practices and will
ultimately leave the organization. Thus, it can be concluded that Resonate technologies are
already facing the issue of high employee turnover rate, which will take the worse turn in the
further stage if the on boarding process is not being mitigated properly. On the other hand, it is
stated by Meyer and Bartels (2017) that lack of on boarding facilities will not only affect the new
employees but also the existing and older employees. This is due to the reason that lack of on
boarding facilities will create more distance between the new and older employees and older
employees will also face the challenge of getting their job done with coordination with the new
employees. This will also create negative impression among the older employees.
In discussing about the impacts of on boarding process, Ferri-Reed (2013) stated that lack
of on boarding process will have short term benefits for Resonate technologies. This is due to the
reason that the cost involved in on boarding the new employees can be mitigated and cost of
inducting new employees will get reduced. However, it is also being stated by the author that
even with the short term benefits for the organization, cost of new employee selection and
recruitment will get increased in the long term. This is due to the reason that of repeated attrition
of the employees will involve continuous cost for selecting new employees, which will increase
the end cost for Resonate technologies.

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Importance of learning and development process
Learning and development process is also important for the contemporary business
organizations. This is due to the reason that effective learning and development process will
ensure that the employees are skilled enough to deal with any emerging situations. According to
Mather and Cummings (2014), learning process can be beneficial in the development process of
the employees. In this article, the authors have given the example of nurse supervisors and it is
stated that learning process for the nurses is acting as the skill enhancement tool. This is due to
the fact that with the help of the learning process, nurses are being able to gather the knowledge
of others and the skills of each employee are getting transmitted among others. Thus, it is
concluded by the authors that a continuous learning process should be followed in the workplace
in order to have the employees with proper skills and expertise.
It should also be noted that learning process is important in employee motivation and
engagement due to the reason that if the employees are skilled enough, then they will be more
motivated in dealing with different issues. According to Roscoe et al. (2013), organizational
challenge will get evolved in the periodical manner and it is important for the managers to
motivate their employees in facing these changes. However, the employees will moralize only
when they will have the ability to face the challenges. With the presence of effective learning
process in the workplace, employees will be able to gather distinctive skills of their co workers
and will be able to possess multi skills in dealing with different challenges. Thus, they will feel
more involved and engaged in this case. In the case of Resonate Technology, initiation of the
learning process will help to improve the relationship between the internal stakeholders and also
they will be getting their job done by cooperation and coordination.

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Apart from the learning process, the development process for the employees should also
be effective enough due to the reason that it will ensure the improvement of the employees in
terms of gaining new expertise. Sung, Hwang and Chang (2016) stated that even though
employees can gain skills and expertise with having the proper learning process in the workplace
but it will also have limitations. In the case of learning process, employees gather new
knowledge from their co workers but there are some skills that should be provided to the entire
workforce. For instance, entering in the foreign market will require the cross cultural
communication and management skills for the employees of Resonate technologies and this skill
cannot be gained from among the employees. Thus, the external development process should be
implemented in the forms of training for the employees. This will ensure that new and external
skill sets are getting added with the existing employees in continuous manner.
Jehanzeb and Bashir (2013) stated that with the help of the training and development
program, employees can be made more skilled as well as motivated due to the fact that they will
feel more confident in dealing with newer challenges. However, it is stated by the authors that
the training process should be effective enough in meeting the organizational requirements as
well as expectations of the employees. In the case of Resonate technologies, they should design
their training plan according to their requirements from the employees, which will ensure that the
skill sets to be gained by the employees are in the line of the organizational requirements.
Furthermore, it is stated by Chao (2014) that the training program will also help the managers in
determining the feedback and skill gaps of the new employees. This is also important because
new employees will not have desired skill sets as expected by the managers it is the
responsibility of the managers to the provide the same to the employees based on the gathered

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feedback. Thus, it can be concluded that with the help of the effective training and development
process, skill gaps of the new employees can be mitigated.
Training and development is not only important for the new employees but also for the
existing employees due to the reason that they are also having the need for skill development in
order to cope up with the changes. Arneson, Rothwell and Naughton (2013) stated that existing
employees are also facing the challenges of acquiring new skills and expertise in the current
dynamic organizational scenario. Thus, if they cannot cope up with the change, they will trail
behind other and it will affect the entire organizational productivity. With the help of training
and development process, existing employees can gain newer skills and they will also be more
motivated in dealing with the organizational challenges. Thus, it can be concluded that training
and development practices can help in enhancing the skill sets of both the existing as well as new
employees. In the case of Resonate technologies, this will improve their employee retention rate
along with having more productive employees.
Consequences of not implementing learning and development process
There will be number of consequences that will be faced by Resonate technologies if they
cannot implement the effective learning and development process. One of the major impacts will
be the reduction in the skill sets of the employees. According to Elnaga and Imran (2013), if the
learning and development process cannot be implemented effectively, then it will cause further
reduction in the workforce for Resonate technologies. It is already stated that they are facing the
issue of high level of employee turnover and with the failure in implementing the learning and
development process, this rate will get increased. This is due to the reason that employees will
lack of the training and learning process and they will also not be able to cope up with the

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changes in the external environment. This will reduce the motivational level and will reduce their
interests in the workplace. On the other hand, it should also be noted that failure in the
implementation of learning and development process will also affect the organizational
productivity of Resonate technologies due to the reason that the average productivity of the
employees will get reduced. It is important for the managers to ensure that productivity of each
of the employees to the highest level. On the other hand, it should be also being noted that failure
in effectively implementing the training and development process will also pose challenges for
the managers. This is due to the reason that if the training and development process cannot be
implemented in the most effective manner, then the new as well as existing employees will not
be able to cope up with the changes in the external business factors.
Importance of career development
Career development is also as important as the other elements of human resource
management due to the reason that this will determine the extent to which the employees will get
motivated in staying with the organization for long term. This is due to the reason that career
development will help the employees to have the long term career goal path according to which
they will have the understanding about their future potentialities. Ellemers (2014) stated that
career management is having the major importance in terms of gender diversity in the workforce.
This is due to the reason that it is having huge impact on the majority of the women employees
because they tend to have more preferences for the workplace and where positive opportunities
are evident. Thus, as per the authors, if Resonate technologies can have proper career
development plan, then it will be beneficial for to attract and retain women employees in the
workplace, which will in turn ensure the gender diversity.

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On the other hand, it is stated by Claussen et al. (2014) that career management will also
act as the tool for talent management due to the reason that extent of the effectiveness of career
development will determine the extent to which the talent can be retained in the workplace.
Moreover, it is also being stated by the author that career management will only attract the best
talents from the job market due to the reason that any of the new talents will have the
expectations for bright career in working with the particular organization. Thus, if the proper
career development goal can be communicated to the new employees, then the chances of
retention will get increased. In the case of Resonate technologies, their challenge of high
employee turnover rate can be mitigated if the career development goals can be communicated.
On the other hand, it should also be noted that career management plan can also help in retaining
the existing employees apart from attracting the new talents. This is due to the reason that
existing employees also expects proper route for their career development and also the chances
of growth and promotion in the workplace. Dik et al. (2015) stated that employees are working in
the organization in the expectation of remuneration and growth. Thus, the employee working for
few years in the same workplace have not got any promotion or growth will unlikely to stay
more with the organizations.
Consequences of not implementing career management plan
One of the major consequences of not implementing the proper career management plan
will be demoralized sets of employees. This is due to the reason that if the employees of
Resonate technologies are not having the understanding for their future career potentialities, then
it will be difficult for the managers to retain them in the workplace. Sampson et al. (2014) stated
that even if the employees are being provided with proper remuneration, then also they cannot be
retained for the longer term due to the reason that remuneration will only enable the employees

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to meet their present expectations and career development route will help to meet the future
expectations of the employees. Thus, without the proper implementation of the career
management program, long term employee retention cannot be fulfilled. On the other hand, it is
also being stated by Arthur et al. (2013) that without the proper career management plan for the
employees, it will be difficult for the managers to set the objectives for the employees. This is
due to the reason that growth and promotion of the employees is being determined by how well
they meeting their objectives. Thus, the process of setting the objectives and goals will get
affected by the lack of career management plan.
Recommended best practices
It is recommended that benchmarking process should be initiated by Resonate
technologies in order to target the benchmark performance in the same industry by different firm
and implementing the same. In the industry where Resonate technologies are operating will
surely have a firm, which is performing well in terms of human resource management. Hence,
implementing the strategies in according to the benchmarked firm will help Resonate to gain
positive return from their human resource management. In addition, it is also recommended that
Resonate technologies should follow online based on boarding process. This is due to the reason
that currently there are number of online on boarding software available in the market. This
software can help Resonate technologies in having an organized way of coordinating different
steps involved in on boarding. It will also help them to monitor the on boarding process
regarding any shortcomings and improving accordingly. Thus, the entire process will get
effective and with the addition of the feedback of the employees, it can be made better.

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Feedback should be gathered from the side of both the existing and new employees. This
is due to the fact that feedback from the existing employees will help to identify the
shortcomings in the previous on boarding process and improving accordingly. On the other hand,
gathering the feedback from the new employees will help to determine their approaches and
design the new process accordingly. In terms of learning approaches, employee centric practices
should be initiated. This will help in providing more autonomy to the employees and they will be
motivated to generate innovative and creative ideas. The more will be the generation of the
innovative ideas from the side of the employees, the more will be the transmission of new ideas
among the internal stakeholders and learning process can be amplified. Resonate technologies
should maintain an uniform outline of career management plan for different designations and
communicate them to the new employees. This outline will serve as the overview of the growth
structure in the organization and the new employees will have the understanding about it from
the very initial stage. Employees who can adjust with this outline will remain in the organization
and thus the attrition rate will get reduced.
Conclusion
This can be concluded that there are number of issues being faced by resonate
technologies in terms of their human resource management. The three major issues for them are
lack of proper on boarding process, learning and development process and career management
plan. In accordance to these issues, further evaluation is being done to identify the root causes. A
few factors are also critically evaluated in their paper, which proves that all the above identified
elements of human resource management are important for the organization in gaining
competitive advantages. In addition, it is also concluded that if these elements cannot be properly
implemented in the workplace, then Resonate technologies will face majorly adverse impact in

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the long term. These impacts will not only increase their already higher employee turnover rate
but also the entire operational viability will be at stake. Moreover, this paper has also discussed a
few recommended steps or the best practices of human resource management that will further
help Resonate technologies in overcoming the identified issues. It is identified that
implementation process of the recommended steps should have higher involvement of all the
internal stakeholders and consensus decision making process should be initiated. This is due to
the reason that employee involvement in the implementation process will ensure that chances of
resistances are low. Higher employee involvement will also ensure the lower rate of employee
turnover in the long term, which will provide competitive edge to Resonate technologies.

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