This segment is a workforce planning and recruitment pack for the management, enhancing awareness about forecasting demand and supply of labour, utilising internal and external sources, promoting and demotion rates, critical incident analysis techniques among others. The pack also consists of information on performance appraisals, use of social media for advertisements, zero-hour contracts, express and implied terms of contracts. Along with this, the pack includes information on role, socialisation, benefits of onboarding, culture, and employee effectiveness.
Post covid 19, there is a huge demand for the workers who are skilled in digital marketing and operations. In comparison to this, the supply of labour is not that effective. Therefore, OcMara is to search globally in terms of getting workers who are skilled in digital marketing. As the objective to come up with environment friendly practices for dealing with energy sources, therefore workforce planning is to be according to the needs. Surplus labour could be hired, but they need to be deployed with balance for the works (Bourgeault et al. 2021). For example, some of the workers could be kept for designing the sustainable practices planned; some can be kept for marketing; some could be given responsibility of collaborating with the neighbouring organizations. Forecasting of labour is to be done by researching the changing labour market scenario. Now, the workers are more flexible with hybrid working model, where they have to manage diversified responsibilities. Therefore, OcMara would get labours skilled in technical competence, if the requirements are outsourced. This is because the scope and arena of business would be expanded. Graphs on the changing conditions of labour market in UK could be considered for estimating the number of labours needed according to the projects (Planning 2022). Internet search would also be effective for gaining information on the current trends of labour market, that is, design thinking and technological competence.
Outbreak of Covid 19 compelled most of the workers to lose their jobs, as the companies and organizations were shut down. Some of the workers were mentally affected, that they did not feel the urge to work again. As a result of this, turnover rates in UK increased. As a result, when the companies reopened, the need was to shift to online mode, which was the new normal, for which work from home was announced. This again caused mental health affectation as the workers were engulfed by boredom, depression on not being able to go outside, work as they usually did. The employers also faced losses as the sales revenue and profit margin were affected (Picardi 2019). As a solution, it was decided that the employees would be exposed to different types of works, which would promote their interests to work at an advanced level. Post Covid 19, the decisions are that of hybrid working model, which has made the workers acquainted with various types of work. OcMara can introduce hybrid working model which would be effective for enhancing awareness of the workers about the latest trends. Meetings, conference calls could be organized where the workers and managers would be an interact with each other. These meetings would restore the communication and coordination among the employers and employees, which is needed for enhancing efficiency in the operations. Post Covid 19, many things have changed in the business. The employees now have to manage many things, for which they need to be motivated (Hancock and Schaninger 2020). Motivational programs need to be organized so that the workers feel energized to work according to the requirements. Feedbacks could be collected from the employees to ensure that they are getting proper support in executing the operations. This tracking would be effective for reducing the turnover rates.
Critical incident analysis could be done by OcMara with the help of risk assessment matrix. This matrix would help in scoring the critical incidents and the extent to which they would affect the operations. These scores are necessary for detecting the crucial aspects which are obstructing the operating the operations. Corporate governance needs to be effective for ensuring that the risk mitigation strategies are properly implemented (Ansar and Baloch 2018). The board panel of OcMara needs to be conscious of these strategies, which needs to be tested before launching for the clients. Critical incident analysis could also be in the form of analysing critically from all of the perspectives. Here, it could be asserted that if the employees are trained on having back up plans, then they would be able to manage and control the emergencies.
Appraisal can be done by using performance management systems, which would track the performance of the workers. This system would help in maintaining proper and accurate measures for appraising performance of the workers (Sparrow 2019). OcMara could use these systems for identifying the workers who are skilled and could contribute to the progression of the company. The focus needs to be on contingency planning, so that efficiency could be maintained in the operations. One of the criterions for appraising the performance, based on the skills, abilities and competencies of managing risks and problem solving. If it is seen that the workers are able to manage the risks, then they could be promoted to new posts, which would be effective for ensuring that adequate labour has been deployed for the activities. OcMara could develop own talent pools, so that workers could be trained for all kinds of operations. This is really beneficial for outsourcing talents. This could expand the scope and arena of the business networks (Glaister et al. 2018).
OcMara can use social media marketing for conducting advertisements about the latest marketing trends adopted. The training and development program could also be processed in the social media, so that the clients can get information on the latest employment programs. Advertisements on recruitment could also be posted on social networking sites for the candidates aspiring to achieve development in the career. Through these advertisements, the candidates could gain insights on the requirements for the post for which the advertisements have been made. Email ID could be provided for the candidates to send their updated resumes. Information on interviews to be conducted would also be there on the social media advertisements (Mayo 2018). Methods of selection could be posted in these advertisements, so that the candidates can prepare accordingly.
The strengths of using social media for OcMara include the ability to contact a large customer base, as well as providing a platform for the dissemination of essential information. The use of social media would also contribute to the establishment of a wide customer network and establish a real-time communication platform while generating positive relationships with customers. Moreover, using social media for posting the news of the trends and decisions adopted would enhance the stability in relationships with the customers. Using customer relationship management systems would be another of the strengths to measure and upgrade relationships with the customers. However, a significant security risk exists with poor encryptions or weak security structures. Despite the risks, many social media platforms are end-to-end encrypted: hence, making it hard to be accessed by unauthorized parties. Posting the news and advertisements of training and development programs, enhances awareness of the clients and customers, which is another strength of using social media for OcMara.
Social media is also being used in the selection and recruitment of new employees. According to Broughton et al. (2013), social media is emerging as one of the convenient ways of recruiting and selecting the best candidates for a job. The profiles of social media users present crucial information about a candidate, including the professional and demographic characteristics of a candidate. Social media profiles inform HR practitioners the beliefs, interests, and commitments of an individual. Social media also allows organisations to utilise innovative recruitment processes instead of using physical recruitment facilities. Despite these recruitment benefits, social media may compromise the security and confidentiality of applicants because some of the posts have unrestricted access.
OcMara can involve legislative bodies for preparing written documents on zero-hour contracts. According to this contract, OcMara and the employees would be bounded legally by agreement, where they are not obliged to provide minimum number of working hours. This is a weakness, as there is no obligation to follow the legislations. This could be introduced by hiring candidates who would be called on requirement and will not have any stipulated working hours (Pandita and Ray 2018). The strength of this is that the individual burden on the employees would be reduced, as the work would be segmented. However, the requirements need to be checked before advertising these kind of job posts. But the workers would not be obliged to do the allocated work. Therefore, this kind of work could produce negative results for OcMara, as the workers would not be working according to the shift hours, like other workers. Zero Hour contracts would not be effective for OcMara, as it would shun the mutual sharing and understanding with the employees, creating difficulties in extracting labour from them through agreements, which is a negative aspect. There is no guarantee in this type of contract, which the employees could mis utilize. In this context, a strength could be Contractor contracts, which could be applicable for the new staffs to be recruited. Contractor contracts could be applicable for the new staffs to be recruited. The trade unions are to be involved in the process, so ensuring that legal terms are proper along with the employee rights. This is a strength, as it would avert any illegal instances. These types of agreements could be effective as it would evoke understanding between the employers and employees, which is a strength for enhancing the stability in the professional relationships. There is also an obligation to follow the rules and regulations under the contracts, which would be a strength in terms of enhancing the workplace culture, and gaining trust, dependence and loyalty from the customers.
Expressed contracts are agreements where the terms and conditions are expressed in writing which should be upheld for both parties. For express contract, OcMara is to ensure that the legislations are properly enforced, as it would be a written contract between the employer and employee. This contract would be a proof that the terms and agreements of the employment has been explained and agreed through verbal communication (Tucker 2021). The strengths of express terms of a contract would be tailor-made and support and guide staff to understand the legal implications for the contract for which the partners are roped in. The weakness would be a limitation in the thought process of the staff, and is to be exercised to understand the contract terms and acting accordingly. An example of express contracts are the employee contracts within between the employees and the organisation. Both parties are required to adhere to the expectations of the contract. On the other hand, an implied contract is one that the terms and conditions are not written, but are implied. These types of contracts would be successful, if the conduct of the parties involved is ethical, transparent, and fair. This would be ethical, enhancing stability in the professional relationships. The parties need to be warned of the negative consequences, if the contract terms and conditions are not followed (Mazzilli and Defélix 2022). In the implied contracts, it is important that the concerned parties are knowledgeable about the terms and conditions, which are unwritten. In other words, it is assumed that they know about the terms and conditions, expected to be adhered to by the involved parties. An example of implied contracts is the need for employees to be loyal to their organisation. This is an unwritten contract but is expected from the relevant parties In the case of implied contracts, some of the rights and duties are not expressed, Assuming that the parties are aware whereas strict compliance is expected. Disagreements may occur in implied contacts due to assumed expectations of the parties. Implied contracts are risky because they often lead to conflicts where the different parties have different expectations from the contract. Therefore, the written documents on the contracts, need to make proper description of the rights and duties, which would enhance knowledge of the employees (Doan et al. 2022).
Therefore, it is deemed essential for OcMara to ensure that the terms and conditions during the reaching of contracts are expressed at all terms, so that Involved parties have a clear understanding of the conditions they are required to adhere to. Consequently, there exists customs and practices in the work environment that lead to the behavior of individuals in the workplace. Customs and practices in the workplace involve traditions within the organisation which later becomes cultures and norms within the organisation (Taylor et.al, 2018). An example of custos and practices within an organisation is closing earlier during national holidays. This is not an expressly written rule but an organisation would strictly adhere to these customs and practices to the letter.
Onboarding, for OcMara would be effective through orientation programs, where the seniors would be present. OcMara board panel need to conduct these programs, meetings and sessions, where the personnel would be informed about their roles. Mention could be made of the training and development programs, which would improve the social interactions between the seniors, juniors, community members and others. The seniors need to cooperate with the juniors in learning about structure, culture, mission, vision, and values. They could also be inspired to communicate in case they face any issues. Communication would evoke negotiation, which would solve the problems. This communication would also reflect socialisation which would expand the business network. Meeting sessions could be organized for clarifying doubts of the juniors regarding the roles which they are to execute. In these meetings, role information could be beneficial in terms of ensuring that there are effective negotiations, averting conflicts. Negotiations would be effective for resolving the conflicts, which could arise as the employees are from different socio-cultural backgrounds. If there is cultural competence among the workers, then it would enhance cultural diversity, as the workers would get trust, dependence and loyalty from the clients (Doan et al. 2022). Design thinking skills on improving corporate social responsibilities would also be effective for improving the reputation. As the focus is to come up with sustainable business practices, therefore, more partnerships could be established with the local communities. This would be effective for enhancing knowledge on using technologies which have lesser impacts on the environment. This partnership, if taken to the global context, would expand the scope and arena of OcMara. The need is to adopt differentiation strategy, cost leadership strategy, and continuous improvement strategy for ensuring proper growth and development (Strydom 2019). In other words, onboarding would diversify the workplace culture of OcMara as the workforce would be assembled from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. This would be beneficial for enhancing the cultural competence, as the cultural values would also be transferred with the essential skills and knowledge. onboarding would also be effective for making the employees learn the ways in which the organizational effectiveness is to be enhanced. For example, in the orientation session, the experts would shed light on the values which the juniors are expected to follow. This would provide them with a better understanding as the senior would teach them from their experience in the organization. This would enhance team work and collaboration towards achieving the targets (Ansar and Baloch 2018).
The pack seems to be effective if continuous improvement strategy is adopted by OcMara. This is through evaluation which would be effective for detecting the areas of improvement in performance, contract, corporate governance, negotiation, legislations, critical incident analysis among others. Strategic management would be beneficial for ensuring that the performance aligns with the current trends in the market, especially labour market. This alignment would help in planning the operations according to the requirements. Herein lays the effectiveness of forecasting, which could be done graphically for keeping track of the alarming situation. Most importantly, the employees need to be motivated, so that they feel the urge to put in hard efforts for ensuring that the target is met.
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