HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Maintaining accurate and objective employee records is a critical part for all human resource. It is not only termed as the best human resource practice, but it is recognized by the federal law as the role of human resource to protect and maintain employee records for future reference. The federal government guides how the employee records should be maintained and for how long the records should be kept. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity, organizations and business should maintain employee records such as resume, request for accommodation, job applications and records of promotion or demotion for at least one year whether the employee is part of the organization or not (MORRIS, 2014). The Immigration Reform and Control Act support that all employees fill a 1-9 firm that should be kept in the organization by the Human Resource for three years if the employee is part if the organization and for one year if the employee ceases to be part of the organization.
On the other hand, The Fair Labor Standards Act advocates for employee record keeping for at least three years especially if the records pertain to the employee salary such as compensation, time cards, variation in salary as well as overtime payment. The other record that should be maintained in an organization include and disciplinary action, information about employee training and the certification of employees (MORRIS, 2014). Medical files of an employee should also be well maintained so that in case of any heath complication, the organization can understand the case. Different files should be used for different records to enhance retrieval when needed. The consequences of poor maintenance of employee records include heavy fining by the federal government once the case is known. Lack of documentation can lead to employee lawsuits in case of wrong termination or unsafe working environment. Discrimination is another case that can lead to lawsuits especially for organizations that do not document employee records. To avoid employee liability, organizations and businesses should maintain accurate employee records.
Formal and Informal Documentation
Some of the formal documentation that should be maintained in employee file include job acceptance, covert letters, background checks, disciplinary actions, and resumes. These documents are said to be formal because they should be signed by both the employee and the employer. The formal documents act as a contract between employee and employer, and they should be accurate before signing so that they can protect the employer from unnecessary lawsuits (Megill, 2017). Disciplinary action documents are formal, but that does not mean that the employee should have agreed with the fine or punishment. They are just an acknowledgment that the employee was informed about the disciplinary action and saw the document so that in case of any lawsuit, the employee can use the document to avoid liability.
Informal documentation in organizations may be in the form of notes from the administration or managers about any conversation between employee and employer or an event discussed in the organization. The informal documents can be written and filed without the employee knowledge since in most cases they are not involving. Since employees are not aware of what is included in an informal documents, employers and managers should be cautious of what is included in the documents so that it can be used to protect them where a lawsuit is presented. Formal documentation illustrates what is expected of the employer while in the organization so any case filed against the employer pertaining employment terms can be disputed by the use of such documentation (Megill, 2017). The documents also act as protection to employer in case the employer denies a candidate job opportunity. For promotion cases, the documents are used to ensure fair promotion which also protects the employer from any form of liability. Both formal and informal documents are used equally to protect an organization or employer from any legal cases.
Effective legal Termination
Downsizing is the process of shedding of some staffs in case the employee is unable to pay them may be due to a company downfall. It is an experience that any organization dislikes although it is unavoidable in some instances. To ensure legal termination during downsizing, documentation ensures that no employee is terminated unfairly. Although it is accepted for any organization to terminate an employee as long as there is justification or notice, well-documented records ensure that the termination is legal for both the employee and employer. When dealing with downsizing, employees can protect themselves from such cases by having improved performance and having good disciplinary action records (Guillaume, 2018). A case of downsizing majorly affects employees who have poor performance in the organization and those who have poor records in that organization. Employees feel that they can be retained by an organization if they have good performance because they are taken as assets for the organization. Employees with exemplary performance are considered by the organizations they work for because they contribute to the success of the organization, unlike normal performing employees. A record of disciplinary actions can lead to employee termination in case there is downsizing. Thus, accurate documentation of employee records can help in the determination of which employee to retain and who not to retain in case there is downsizing.
Major Challenges in Healthcare Today
Healthcare leaders face challenges when trying to uphold ethics with their employees and organizational needs. One of the challenges faced by these leaders is social media. Social media affect the interaction between employees and healthcare leaders because most people have more than one account that can be used to post useful and less useful information. Employees in a healthcare organization can use social media to post information about a patient which can be violating the rights of a patient (Guillaume, 2018). Healthcare workers tend to post burning issues in their organization in social media, and that is not only ethically wrong, but it violates the rights of HIPPA. Healthcare leaders lack control of social media thus it is a challenge when these employees post patient information on their different social networks.
The other challenge facing healthcare leader is healthcare reform. This has been a challenge to healthcare leaders since the reforms require the facilities to have a definite way to save money and serve employees without interfering with their relationships. Healthcare reforms are associated with some costs that should be met, and some of these costs are met by insurance companies. Some of the healthcare facilities take that as an opportunity to get a portion of the money from insurance company. Although this is not ethically right, it can be good for healthcare leaders as it aid in budgeting for the patient while in that organization. Such cases put healthcare leaders at a dilemma on whether to consider an ethically correct thing of maintaining healthcare policy that requires them to deduct a certain percentage of money from employee’s insurance which can affect their relationship (Khan, 2018). The two issues have been challenging to the current healthcare leaders; thus they should be solved for effective management.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is a form of replacing old leaders with the new leaders in cases where the existing leaders leave the organization, die or retire. Succession planning is essential aspect for all organizations, and an acute care hospital is not an exception. Effective succession planning happens in several steps which include being proactive with succession planning. This period allows the administration of an organization to select and prepare a promising candidate for the leadership role. The next step is having an open mind where promising employees can be considered for replacing the old employees (Hall-Ellis, 2015). The next step in the process is making the vision known to all managers. Potential managers should be included in the planning and leadership skills and vision of the organization so that they can guide on the best leaders for the organization. Human resource managers and directors should be included for the succession plan to be successful since they know who should be selected for advancement.
Recommendations for the new leaders should be based on the reviews, leadership skills, how willingly are they to learn and their commitment in that hospital. A development program should be facilitated by the HR management and should include a review of the recommended traits of the leaders who will then be selected for the leadership position. The selected candidates will be given a chance to decline the offer so that the selected candidates can be made part of the team (Hall-Ellis, 2015). They will then work for a chosen period with which they will be allowed to make a request and ask questions about the healthcare organization. In meetings, the new candidates will have a chance to make a request and give feedback on the progress in their new positions. By the end of the period, all the candidates will be assessed and evaluated on their progress during the program, and the candidates will be grouped based on their scores on their career path. The evaluation will be from their peers, employee, and managers. The employees who showed improved performance during the program are given the highest leadership positions, and the rest are allocated in areas that require leaders.
Unionization
Healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting unionization as part of ensuring their employees fall under certain union. Unionization has been criticized by management because they limit the level of decision making for a healthcare workplace (Malvey, 2010). The management power to enforce the terms and conditions of the workplace is lowered. Thus they are disputed by most healthcare organization management. According to employees, the unions act as middlemen to employees and maintaining them is costly since the employees have to pay a fee to be part of the unions (Malvey, 2010). Although they give employees the freedom to air their views, the y are not preferred due to a high cost of maintaining them, slowed process and limitations to changes relevant to a healthcare organization. Thus, they are not justified by employees despite the efforts they make.
Role of Human Resource
Human resource plays a great role in the acute care hospital by selecting the right workers and conducting research on what should be included in the facility to assist in achieving the goals. For a hospital to achieve its goals, it should offer the best quality of care which will be based on evidence (Megill, 2017). The use of evidence-based practice in acute care hospital, research is required which is conducted by human resource. Also, human resource enhances employee relationships, and that is critical to achieving future goals.
References
Malvey, D. (2010). Unionization in Healthcare Background and Trends. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 55(3), 154-157.
MORRIS, R. (2014). Record Retention: What to Keep and Where to Put It. Franchising World, 46(9), 43-45.
Megill, K. A. (2017). Corporate memory: records and information management in the knowledge age. KG Saur.
Guillaume, P., Sullivan, S. E., Wolff, H. G., & Forret, M. (2018). Are there major differences in the attitudes and service quality of standard and seasonal employees? An empirical examination and implications for practice. Human Resource Management.
Khan, H. A. (2018). Ethics and Accountability and the Challenges. In Globalization and the Challenges of Public Administration (pp. 101-134). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Hall-Ellis, S. D. (2015). Succession planning and staff development–a winning combination. The Bottom Line, 28(3), 95-98.