Westonwich District Council Case Study: HRM Issues and Recommendations

This case study examines the Human Resource Management (HRM) issues at Westonwich District Council (WDC), a local government organization in North England. The council faces challenges including high staff turnover, restricted pay raises, increased workload and job stress, lack of training and development, low employee involvement in decision-making, low job security, and lack of job recognition. The study analyzes survey data to highlight these concerns and identifies high employee turnover and ignored employee benefits as the two key issues. It provides detailed recommendations for addressing these issues, focusing on implementing fair compensation policies, providing monetary and non-monetary benefits, improving employee training and development, and fostering employee engagement to enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. The analysis emphasizes the importance of proactive HRM strategies for organizational success.

Human Resource
Management

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is the department of the organisation which looks after
hiring, managing and firing the staff of an organisation (Aswathappa and Dash, 2020). It focuses
on ensuring the optimum utilization of the available talent in an organisation. It is a deliberate
approach used for effective management of the people employed in the organisation in such a
way gain competitive advantage over other competitors. It focuses on maximising employees
performance and enhancing employee loyalty towards the company. The root function of human
resource management is to plan, control, direct and monitor its employees in order to achieve the
organisational objectives. The important objectives of this department is to recruit a right person,
at the right place and on the right time, work for their training and development, take care of
their health and take measures for retaining them in the company. It is a crucial part for an
organisation for being successful in a long run. Thus, it can be said that this department is
responsible for focusing employee management practices and their benefits. This report is based
on Westonwich District Council, providing range of government services to its customers
residing in North England.
TASK
Categorize key findings with a brief discussion of why these are issues of concern
Westonwich District Council (WDC), a local government organisation locate in North
England which is bordered by a population of 75000 people living in nearby towns and villages.
The organisation is engaged in providing government services to its neighbours. It is responsible
for tax collection, tourism promotions activities and administrating housing benefits and
planning matters (Banfield, Kay and Royles, 2018). The council has a work force of 250
employees. The organisation has restricted its pay raise to 1% for few years to come, that
resulted in high staff turnover, lack of employee satisfaction and many other issues. A survey
was conducted in the council and few of the issues identified are discussed below:
Salary Cut of Employees- As per the case, the council has restricted the pay hike of the
employees to 1% only which is a demotivating factor for employee retention. This factor has
direct impact on the home taking salaries of the employees and thus influence their financial
stability and spending capabilities as well. As per the survey conducted in the organisation it was
explored that out of the total respondents only 21% employees were satisfied with their pay rolls

but they were also not very satisfied. Majority of the respondents were not satisfied with their
pays and benefits offered to them.
High work load and Increased Job Stress- Job stress happens due to increased work
load, job insecurity and conflicts with peers or boss (Bringezu and Bleischwitz, eds., 2017). In
the council the employees faced high work pressure resulting increased stress. As per the survey
conducted in the organisation it was analysed that 89% employees felt the pressure of escalating
work load and has resulted in diminishing efficiency of the workforce. Also 90% employees of
Westonwich feels that their productivity has reduced due to high work load. Because of this high
work pressure and increased job stress 54% of the total respondents are looking for alternative
jobs.
Lack of Training and Development- It causes more frustration, unhappy employees and
increase time wastage. It is likely to affect employees performance, poor job experience and
increased work related stress. Inadequate training develops a undervalued and less productive
feeling among the employees. It severely impacts not only team moral, business performance
and financial turnovers but also the firms ability to attract and retain efficient and talented
employees. It forms an important part for both employees and the organisation. Westonwich has
majorly ignored the training program of its employees. As per the survey only 32% of the total
respondents were satisfied with the training and development opportunities of the organisation.
Also only 15% of the employees responded that the changes made in the organisation was
managed well whereas majority was against it.
Low Involvement in Decision Making- Involvement in decision making is a powerful
tool for maintaining good relations (Clair, 2017). It helps in enhancing overall performance of
the organisation. Employees feel motivated as they are given the opportunity for taking part in
the decision making process and contributes in expressing their opinions with the management.
After analysing the survey it was concluded that only 28% of the total respondent employees felt
that they were being heard by the council, but majority disagreed with the statement. Only 37%
of the employees were satisfied with the amount of discretion allowed by the Westonwich
Council and majority were against it.
Low Job Security among Employees- It is the threat among the employees of being
removed of fired. It is the most concerned factor for an employee, they feels happy when the
company takes care of its employees and ensure them job security. As per the survey conducted

in Westonwich only 36% employees from the total respondent were satisfied with the job
security of the organisation. Instead the council was not even replacing the posts of the
employee's leaving the organisation. The employees of the council were demotivated and
dissatisfied with the job security provided by the organisation. It has reduced the moral and
productivity of the employees (Dalton and Bingham, 2017).
Lack of Job Recognition- It means acknowledging employees work and appreciating
them for their exemplary performance. It plays an important part for both the organisation and
the employees. It has a direct impact on the employees performance, as they feel motivated and
engaged more with the work. Due to low job recognition, employees develops a negative energy
towards his peers, managers and also for the organisation. Their skills and talent are not
optimally utilised and they don't feel themselves as a part of the team or organisation. In case of
Westonwich only 27% of the total responding employees were happy with the job recognition of
the company, rest were dissatisfied with it. They felt demotivated for not being appreciated by
the management for achieving the goals in most efficient manner as possible.
Identify two key issues and provide justification for why these are the key issues that must be
addressed first
Westonwich District Council was facing number of issues, but two major issues of
utmost importance to be addressed are as follows:
High Employees Turnover Ratio and Restricted Recruitment- Employee turnover if
the number of employees the company over a period of time. High turnover is not a good
condition for the company, as high cost is associated with it. Employees leaving the organisation
are needed to replaced on an immediate basis otherwise it will hamper the organisation's working
(Domsch, 2017). It is a time consuming process and involves huge cost for training and
development of the employees. In long run high turnover have a negative impact on the
company's reputation. In the given care of Westonwich District council there is voluntary
turnover as the employees were wilfully leaving the organisation because they were dissatisfied
with their job roles, pay roles and increased job stress. Also the company did not provide
appropriate training and development program for its employees which resulted in low employee
moral and unhappy workforce. It creates a challenging situation for the organisation to attract
new talent in the company. Also Westonwich has fully ignored new recruitment and is very rigid

for refilling the vacant positions so as to reduce its cost of operations. The work load on existing
employees has increased which has lead to degraded knowledge and competencies of the
employees. The organisation has a threat of loosing the opportunity of growing and developing
its business because of lack of flexibility. Inadequately trained staff lacks experience and results
in poor performance. The employees feel undervalued and demotivated. It leads to low work
place loyalty among the employees, reduction in their productivity and high mistakes and poor
performance (Glendon, Clarke and McKenna, 2016).
Ignored Employee Benefits- The another major issue the company had is that the
management has totally ignored the benefits of its employees. The council has restricted its pay
roll hike to 1% only for some time but no one was very satisfied with it. And only 21% of the
total responded employees were satisfied with the view that they are being supported by the
senior management. The majority of the employees were dissatisfied ignored and not left over in
the company. The employees felt that their job was becoming more stressful and the work load
has increased to a great extent. For a company to grow and flourish, employees plays a major
role in it. It is the organisation's responsibility to keep its employees happy and motivated as it
has a direct impact on the employee's productivity in achieving the organisation goals and
mission. Organisations offering a good employee benefit have a better reputation in the industry
and helps in gaining a competitive advantage. It also helps the organisation in retention and
attracting the most talented work force and increase their performance and working ability. Poor
employee benefits leads to demotivation among them which is a serious issue for the
organisation.
Westonwich District Council is required to consider these issues on an immediate bases
so as to make the organisation profitable.
Provide recommendations as to how those two key issues can be addressed
In order to address above issues, it is important that there are some serious efforts those
are taken so as to improve productivity level of employees in organization (Harney and Trehy,
2016). The major factor behind this act can be to motivate employees and make them more
participative in the activities of the firm. The most important segment in the process of gaining
desired objectives for a firm is to make their employees productive and efficient. Above are
some of the hurdles that an organization might face in the operation of managing employees or
human resources of the firm. The main solution that can be recommended to solve this situation

is to formulate fair and transparent compensation policy in the firm (Mitchell, 2018). The main
motivating factor for employees is the monetary benefits. Another recommendation in this
context is that they should be given some additional benefits so as to boost their morale. This
boosted morale and motivation will make them more motivated to perform better and with
complete efficiency. Monetary incentives are quite beneficial for company and employees both.
This will improve their feeling of belongingness towards company and its management. This
feeling will have a direct positive impact over their productivity and contribution in the
company. The few most common benefits are medical, life insurance, retirement benefits and
other fringe benefits. Medical insurance covers cost of consulting doctor, room charges and
drugs prescribed. Life insurance protects the employee's family in case of any uncertainty that
happens with him. The number of employees in the organisation determines if the company will
offer life insurance or not. Retirement benefits are the funds paid by the organisation after
completing the tenure of employment. It is a predetermined amount paid based on the salary and
the number of years served by the employee in an organisation. Fringe Benefits are a variety of
non cash payments used by organisations to attract and retain talented staff. It includes child care
benefits, flexible medical care or tuition assistance. Tuition reimbursement is an important
benefit which gives a great way for advancing the career growth.
The above mentioned technique and tool helps in increasing the appeal. This tool
illustrates that the management is believing in their human resources and they are capable and
also willing to invest more resources in them. The main objective of this investment by the
management of the company in their human resources in to retain them for a longer period of
time. This also improves the level of moral in employees. In addition to monetary benefits,
another important aspect in this section is to provide non monetary benefits also (Prasad, 2020).
This non monetary benefits includes tools like addressing and understanding the needs of
employees. This technique will help management to improve dedication of employees towards
their organization. In addition to this, it will also make them more serious and loyal towards their
job responsibilities and duties. This also reflect in the creation of a healthy work culture in the
company. A healthy work environment will help employees to be more motivated and also
happy while their stay in the firm. Through the process of offering various benefits and
advantages, the most vital change that can be seen is that they are more committed towards their
work and are focused towards providing high quality contribution in company.

Another important tool in order to overcome above obstacles is to provide training programs.
This will improve the skill set of employees and hence, will be reflected in improved profitability
of the company. A motivation is seen in the employees which make them more productive and
completable. It helps in increasing their loyalty towards the work place and their work
commitment increases. It has a significant impact on the job performance of the employee in a a
positive way. It proves to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce. It not only
helps the company but also the employees to grow and develop and and make progress (Sorells,
2018).
It is evaluate that the success of the company is can be achieved by the optimum
utilisation of the skills and knowledge that is used and managed by the companies. It also help in
managing and boosting the quality standards of the products. The new employees of the
company are trained to match with the strength and skills of the existing employees and help in
achieving the targets of the company. Furthermore Human resource management help in the
companies organisation reputation, by paying the full attention on the skills of the employees and
maximise the benefits so that the company can grow in the market. There are various other
benefits of the HR department as they also help in reducing the labour turnover ratio which help
in reducing the cost of operations and spend low on the training and induction process for the
new employees. Although training is the important part as it help in increasing the motivation
and job performance of the employee in the term of company's growth. At the same time HR
department become the reason for the success of the company and make a strong competitive
image over others in the market. For the employee training provide the opportunity to them fro
make the growth and take promotions in the organisation. It help the employee to work more and
show their capabilities that will benefit the the organisation in achieving the goals (Wehrmeyer,
2017).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been summarised that Human resource management play an
essential role in an organisation that assist in resolving management related issues of firm easily.
In this regard, it is needed for the HR manager to pay their maximum attention towards
monitoring and controlling practices that may assist them in run a smooth functioning of firm.
Thus, it is needed for an organisation and its management level employees to pay their maximum
attention towards the business practices in order to gain desired growth opportunities easily. It is

also essential for them to construct strategic directions that may assist them to evaluate solutions
for the business problems.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Banfield, P., Kay, R. and Royles, D., 2018. Introduction to human resource management.
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Bringezu, S. and Bleischwitz, R. eds., 2017. Sustainable resource management: global trends,
visions and policies. Routledge.
Clair, J., 2017. Best environmental HRM practices in the US. In Greening Pepople (pp. 49-73).
Routledge.
Dalton, K. and Bingham, C., 2017. A social institutionalist perspective on HR diffusion:
historical and cultural receptivity to HRM in a post-communist context. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management. 28(6). pp.825-851.
Domsch, M.E., 2017. Human Resource Management in Russia. Routledge.
Glendon, A.I., Clarke, S. and McKenna, E., 2016. Human safety and risk management. Crc
Press.
Harney, B. and Trehy, J., 2016. Resource-based view. In Encyclopedia of Human Resource
Management. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Mitchell, B., 2018. Resource and environmental management. Oxford University Press.
Prasad, L.M., 2020. Principles and practice of management. Sultan Chand & Sons.
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Extent of Potential Job Displacement Caused by Workplace
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