Anytown Agency

Background Information

Anytown Agency is a large non-profit company that provides child protection services to a community of 500,000 people. It is funded and monitored by the Provincial Government. There is a main office and two satellite offices. They employ 35 management staff and 585 unionized employees, including case managers and intake workers. The agency has a CEO, COO, CFO and CHRO. The CEO reports to a board of directors. The senior management team is relatively new to the company, particularly the CEO and CHRO. The employees of the company are provided with competitive wages, and enjoy a 2.5%-3% wage increase each year. They are also provided with a comprehensive benefits package. Despite this, labour relations within the company are poor. There is a high rate of absenteeism, an average of 19 sick days per year. There are problems with union relations, and the agency has experienced two strikes in the last 15 years. There has been a higher rate of grievances in the past two years. The most active union members work at the satellite offices. The labour contract is up for renegotiation in 8 months. The government is planning to institute a 2 year wage freeze, which would affect the employees of this agency. The service rate is at 12% higher than last year and the agency is currently working at a deficit. A recent survey reveals that many employees do not have a strong sense of belonging to the company and do not have confidence in the company’s management. The same survey revealed that the manager’s consider their workload to be excessive. Finally, both employees and managers are dissatisfied with communication and supervision in the workplace. The Board of Directors has reviewed the results of the survey and asked the agency to develop a way to address these human resources challenges.

Identified Issues

One of the primary problems at Anytown Agency revolves around employee relations. An employee relation involves a “complex blend of organizational culture, human resource practices, and individual perceptions” (Schwind, Das & Wagar 391). The five key dimensions of employee relations are employee involvement, employee communication, employee counselling, employee discipline and employee rights (ibid 392). Effective employee communication is not being used at the agency, and they may have an ineffective communication system. This can be identified through the survey distributed to both employees and management. Employee involvement is also an issue at the company, as many respondents to the survey indicated that they do not have a strong sense of belonging to the company. Employee involvement “consists of a variety of systematic methods that empower employees to participate in the decisions that affect them and their relationship with the organization” (ibid 412), meaning that Anytown Agency needs to increase worker’s participation. Another