Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 1

Executive Summary
XYZ, a consulting company based in Europe is facing challenges in maintaining its human
resources. it has been reported that the company’s human resources department has implemented
induction and onboarding processes. The newly hired workers usually have access to a digital
library, where they learn about their roles and how to improve performance and grow their
careers. In addition, the organization has training program that helps workers attain compliance
standards in regards to aspects such as anti-bribery, GDPR, anti-money laundering, anti-trust,
and tax evasion. Currently, there is a performance management system with obligatory
development goal selection. Although the program focuses on newly hired workers, it will be
introduced to existing employees. In addition, career spotlight events allow existing employees
to educate new recruits about the job by sharing details about their career journey with XYZ.
However, with a turnover rate of about 20% of the industry, XYZ’s employee management
strategies require significant improvement. An analysis of the survey findings from previous
years shows that the company has not yet implemented most of the findings. Particularly,
findings show that XYZ scores lowly in empowerment and innovation, enablement, career
development, organizational change, and pay and benefits. In this case, the performance of
workers and retention of desired talent may be challenging because the company does not
prioritize the welfare of its employees. Therefore, it is necessary that the human resources
management team takes appropriate steps to address the concerns. In any company, it is
important that the employees feel valued. Consequently, the commitment of workers who believe
that they are involved in key processes will increase. It is recommended that the HRM
department should prioritize welfare to retain workers. Moreover, the strategy will improve the
employees’ productivity in the long-term. It will be important to ensure that each worker is
satisfied with the role that they are assigned within the firm. Some of the strategies that should be
adopted in regards to employee welfare includes enhancement of workplace safety. Also, in
order to improve efficiency, the company should ensure that the workers are proportionally
staffed. Thirdly, it will ideal if the workers are trained and given opportunities to develop their
careers. Finally, it is important to ensure that employees are granted reasonable or sensible pay.
The main implication is that the benefits awarded to the workers should be enough to motivate
them to work hard. Staffing plays an important role in determining whether an organization will
be successful or not. Therefore, optimizing the staff function will likely exhibit desirable
financial results. The role of the human resource management department is to create a balance
in the roles assigned to workers. For a high level of productivity, XYZ should ensure that every
worker is assigned distinct and sufficient. Employees should not be burdened with work. It will
be important to hire the right people and customize the development. In a bid to ensure that
everyone fits the organization, training and engagement should be adopted at XYZ. The training
should focus on the acquisition of new skills and capabilities. This way, the performance of the
workers is expected to increase significantly.
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 2

Introduction

XYZ’s human resources management entails the provision of critical services that help
employees to perform their roles diligently and grow their career and proficiency. However, the
organization’s human resources management scores have been fluctuating since 2017. The
company’s human resources department has implemented induction and onboarding processes.
In addition, the organization has training program that helps workers attain compliance standards
in regards to aspects such as anti-bribery, GDPR, anti-money laundering, anti-trust, and tax
evasion. In addition, career spotlight events allow existing employees to educate new recruits
about the job by sharing details about their career journey with XYZ. However, with a turnover
rate of about 20% of the industry, XYZ’s employee management strategies require significant
improvement.

Findings

XYZ’s human resource programs have improved in some aspects and declined in others. The
human resource management team should emphasize on career development, sustainable
engagement, organizational changes, decision-making, and empowerment and innovation.
However, some of the areas that require more emphasis to match other firms in the industry
include decision-making and work-life balance (Mello 2018). Workers should be assigned tasks
that allow them to take new challenges. The reason is that more focus is required on the available
opportunities that can help improve the welfare and performance of the workers (Bedjo et al.
2020). Although the employees indicated that they receive long-term opportunities and
professional development considerations, more improvements are required in aspects such as
payments and benefits.

XYZ’s services were more customer-oriented in areas such as legal services where the main
focus was on client issues 100% of the time. This level exceeded the 90% threshold that would
imply that the organization focuses on customer issues. In segment B, most of the activities
(97%) focused on the company’s customers. Other segments that scored better than the company
threshold were the HR Services Department and Segment B, which had 98% each. However,
poor performance was exhibited by the manager (85%), segment E (85%), which offers
accounting and administration services, direct sales (85%), and the professional accounting
services (87%). Focusing more on customers is appropriate, but it is important not to ignore the
workers. Supervisors should ensure that there is a positive social exchange between seniors and
juniors as this can help workers offer high-quality services t the clients. The suggestion aligns
with the Social Exchange Theory by Blau (1964), which indicates that interpersonal relationships
should be exchanges in which each actor engages the value they receive. Therefore, if workers at
XYZ receive good value from management, they will also offer high-quality services.

In regards to diversity and inclusion, XYZ is best in addressing the needs of new joiners (95%).
Other areas with better performances include Segment G (94%), Segment B (94%), New joiners
within less than one year (94%), and HR services (93%). All of the listed areas performed well in
diversity and inclusion because they exceeded 90%, the expected threshold of excellence.
However, some areas such as segment A, which is situated in Europe (80%), legal services
(81%), those who are 21 years and more (87%), and part-time workers (87%), did not meet the
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 3

threshold. New joiners, workers from segments B and C, and those who had been employed for
less one year believed that XYZ regards inclusion and diversity as an important aspect that will
facilitate future growth because the score was more than 90% in each case. Also, workers from
the HR services department had a similar opinion. However, the level of diversity and inclusion
may have been very low or regarded as an ineffective strategy for future growth among segment
A workers (score of less than 90%). In addition, the workers in the legal department, those who
were in their third year of service in 2021, part-time workers, and those who had attained 21
years of age or more by 2021 (score of less than 90%) never believed inclusion and diversity
were prioritized strategies that would lead to future growth in the company. In this case, the
company has adopted the premises of the Role Theory. According to the Role Theory that was
created by Handy in 1993, people in firms develop attitudes about their work depending on the
circumstances they face (Witzel 2015). For instance, the nature of the company one works for,
their positions, and the people they interact with influence one’s motivation. It is expected that
people who feel included and their diversity respected will perform their roles better.

In regards to the provision of challenging opportunities and empowerment, the workers who
were less than 25 years old in 2021, those working in Segment B, those who had worked for a
period of between one and less than 4 years by 2021, those who joined the firm in 2021, as well
as, the ones who had worked for less than one year by 2021 said that their roles entailed
challenging opportunities. The reason is the score for each of the listed groups exceeded 90%.
However, those who were older than 35 years of age by 2021 and those who has worked with
company for 4 years to less than 6 years by 2021 indicated that their job roles had no challenging
opportunities (score of less than 90%). The need to empower workers and provide them with
challenging opportunities is congruent with the ERG Theory. The model, which was developed
in 1972 by Alderfer, indicates that people’s needs should be met for them to be productive. The
minimal training and lack of necessary resources to perform the assigned roles, exhibited at
XYZ, makes the employees feel that their growth is hindered. According to ERG Theory, a
productive employees’ existence, relatedness, and growth needs should be fulfilled. However, in
this case the organization does not offer enough benefits and pay to employees to satisfy their
psychological needs and maintain relationship. In addition, the organization scores on the
provision of training and growth opportunities are low. Consequently, productivity will be low
because the workers’ self-esteem or confidence may be low because their achievements will be
limited.

As for career development, highest scores were reported by groups such as new joiners, those
less one year in the company, the ones working in segment G, those younger than 25 years, and
the ones working in segment X in 2021 (Each group’s score exceeds 90%). However, the
workers who had 35 years and above of age, experience of between 4 and 16 years with the
company by 2021, and those working in segment C never believed that they were granted long-
term opportunities (Scores of less than 90%). The highest scores regarding training and career
development were exhibited among the people who had worked with XYZ for less than one year
by 2021 and those in Segment B, those less than 25-year-old by 2021, new joiners and those
working in the legal services department also received such opportunities to develop their careers
professionally (Scores of more than 90%). The workers who had been in the organization for a
long time did not believe XYZ provided them with opportunities to develop their careers through
training and growth. In this case, the employees who had worked for a period of 4 and 16 years,
those in Finance, and the ones in Segments C and F never had an opportunity to develop their
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 4

careers (87%). The opportunity awarded to or denied the employees in growing their careers
align with the assumptions of the Goal Setting Theory developed by Lock and others in 1968.
According to the model, managers and employees have to set attainable and realistic targets that
they seek to achieve. The workers focus on doing the tasks while managers offer appropriate
periodic training and feedback to facilitate growth. At the end of the period, an evaluation is
done and appraisal is made by rewarding the worker for achieving the desirable outcome.

In regards to engagement, about 56% of the workers fully engaged, while 22% felt unsupported.
Another 17% of the employees were detached, while 5% were fully disengaged. Further survey
results show that XYZ focused more on strategy and direction and customer concerns. It is
indicated that each of the two aspects, customer focus and strategy and direction, has a score of
91 (See Appendix 3). The next concept that scores highly although it missed the 90 thresholds in
XYZ, is diversity and inclusion, which had a score of 89. Others include well-being, ethics,
communication, leadership, quality of direct manager, performance management, team work,
work-life balance, decision-making, and sustainable engagement. Pay and benefits had the
lowest score of 52, followed by organizational change (62) and career development (64) as
shown in Appendix 1. The concept of empowerment and innovation also scored lowly. Another
factor was that of enablement, which had a score of 79. In terms of historical breakdown,
Segment G Still exhibited the best improvements in terms of human resources management
concepts, followed by Segments F, A, and B. On the other hand, Segments E and F recorded the
worst performance.

In regards to enablement, the scores were a little lower than those of engagement, but 86% were
confident that their team or work groups could easily meet the work challenges effectively. In
addition, four fifths of the employees felt that they had the necessary tools and resources they
wanted to achieve excellent performance, while 72% believed that there were no substantial
obstacles that hinder them from doing their work well. Motivation of employees through
rewarding, appropriate renumeration, and benefits aligns with the premises of the Expectancy
Theory by Vroom (1964). In this case, the workers will put more efforts by working hard if they
set targets to meet. However, the workers will expect that their exceptional performance will
make them receive desirable targets. It is also necessary that one feels capable of achieving the
intended goals. People have to feel autonomous, competent, and interconnected with others for
them to perform their roles exceptionally.

More than 81% of the employees at XYZ believed that they could sustain the level of energy
required throughout the work day, colleagues were well treated, and that there was enough time
to complete the daily tasks. In regards to communication, the company scores excellently
because most workers believe they get, share, and manage information in a relevant and helpful
way. People should be trained to acquire necessary skills to perform roles. The commitment of
employees to work and sustain their energy are congruent with the premises of the Attribution
Theory proposed by Heider (1958) and Weider (1974). According to the Attribution Theory, an
individual understands their environment if they know what causes certain issues or situations
(Buchanan & Huczynski 2019). In the case of XYZ, the employees are aware that their work
may be challenging because they are outside forces such as lack of training and growth
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 5

opportunities. However, under the attribution theory, the personal differences should be factored
during the training sessions (Weiner, 2012; Folkes 2014). Therefore, managers should motivate
members to form appropriate groups or teams.

The organization, XYZ, does not reward its employees through benefit and other pay as
expected. The situation is a violation of the key elements of theory regarding human behavior
and factors that influence conduct. Following Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959), human
resource managers should focus on creating the right conditions for increasing job satisfaction
levels (Herzberg, 2008;Vallabhaneni, 2020). Those who make great achievements should be
recognized while people should be allowed to be responsible in their roles. The working
conditions, policies and rules should be ideal to support hard work. In terms of segments, G
(global head of funds and product management) had the best significant improvement in each of
the human resource variables reviewed (See Appendix 2). This was closely followed by segment
F. and better performing segments were A and B. Segments C and E recorded the worst
performance.

Conclusions and Recommendations

It has been established that XYZ scores lowly in empowerment and innovation, enablement,
career development, organizational change, and pay and benefits. In this case, the performance
of workers and retention of desired talent may be challenging because the company does not
prioritize the welfare of its employees. Therefore, it is necessary that the human resources
management team takes appropriate steps to address the concerns. In any company, it is
important that the employees feel valued. Equity Theory, which was proposed by Adams in
1965, is about fair treatment in the workplace. XYZ workers should feel valued through the
human resources department’s activities such as training and career growth opportunities.
Consequently, the commitment of workers who believe that they are involved in key processes
will increase.

For XYZ to retain its workers, the HRM department should prioritize welfare. Moreover, the
strategy will improve the employees’ productivity in the long-term. It will be important to ensure
that each worker is satisfied with the role that they are assigned within the firm. Some of the
strategies that should be adopted in regards to employee welfare includes enhancement of
workplace safety. Also, in order to improve efficiency, the company should ensure that the
workers are proportionally staffed. Thirdly, it will ideal if the workers are trained and given
opportunities to develop their careers. Finally, it is important to ensure that employees are
granted reasonable or sensible pay. The main implication is that the benefits awarded to the
workers should be enough to motivate them to work hard.

As indicated, staffing plays an important role in determining whether an organization will be

successful or not. Therefore, firms that have optimized their staff will likely exhibit desirable
financial results (Greene & Green 2017, p. 4). The role of the human resource management
department is to create a balance in the roles assigned to workers. For a high level of
productivity, firms should ensure that every worker is assigned distinct and sufficient duties
(Niles 2013, p. 82). Employees should not be burdened with work. Also, safety should be
prioritized in any workplace. In the case of XYZ, the company’s human resource management
department should ensure that the conditions are favorable for all of its workers, regardless of the
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 6

role they will be required to perform. The reason for this suggestion is that people are motivated
to work hard when they are sure they are in a safe place. It is anticipated that XYZ’s personnel
management will be smooth while it will be possible to retain workers and attract others. The
company’s human resources department will manage to have the right type of workers.

When employees are motivated properly, they engage in organizational citizenship behavior
(Martin & Fellenz 2017). In such cases, people sustain their loyalty to the organization because
they are allowed to work as teams, offered challenging tasks, growth opportunities, and their
work is recognized. Consequently, the workers are committed to perform their roles diligently. In
the case of XYZ, the workers can be motivated to cooperate with their colleagues and offer
services. Since everyone will be happy with what they will be doing, the likelihood of them
performing extra roles to ensure that they meet personal and organizational goals is very high.
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 7

References
Attribution Theory by Heider (1958) and Weider (1974).
Bedjo Santoso, H. P., Sulistyo, H., Wijayan, D., Anwar, C., & Ogunbad, A. F., 2020. ICIC 2020:
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Islamic Civilization, ICIC 2020, 27th
August 2020, Semarang, Indonesia. European Alliance for Innovation.
Buchanan, D. A., & Huczynski, A., 2019. Organizational behaviour. Pearson Education Limited.
ERG Theory by Alderfer (1972).
Folkes, S. G., 2014. Attribution theory: Applications to achievement, mental health, and
interpersonal conflict. Psychology Press.
Goal Setting Theory by Lock et al. (1968).
Greene, D. & Green, R., (2017). Top 10 characteristics of high-performing healthcare
organizations." [Online] (Updated 2018) Available at
<[Link]/hubfs/161605/Top_10_Characteristics_of_High_Performing_Healthc
are_Organizations-[Link]?t=1494359259113>:[Accessed 8 May 2022]..
Herzberg, F., 2008. One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review
Press.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959).
Niles, N. J., 2013. Basic concepts of health care human resource management. Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
Martin, J., & Fellenz, M. R., 2017. Organizational behaviour and management. Cengage
Learning.
Mello, J. A., 2018. Strategic human resource management. Cengage US.
Role Theory by Handy (1993).
Social Exchange Theory by Blau (1964).
Vallabhaneni, S. R., 2020. Wiley CIA exam review 2020. Part 3, Business knowledge for internal
auditing. Wiley and Sons.
Weiner, B.,2012. An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. Springer New York.
Witzel, M., 2015. Management consultancy. Routledge.
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 8

Appendices
Appendix 1: Total Favorable Scores of Each Human Resource Role
Role Total Favorable Score
Customer Focus 91
Strategy and Direction 91
Diversity and Inclusion 89
Well-Being 88
Ethics 87
Communication 84
Quality of Direct Manager 84
Leadership 83
Decision-Making 82
Performance Management 82
Teamwork 82
Sustainable Engagement 81
Work-Life Balance 81
Enablement 79
Empowerment and Innovation 76
Career Development 64
Organizational Change 62
Pay and Benefits 52
Appendix 2: Differences in Scores of Human Resources Management Aspects (Total Favorable
Values

Appendix 3: Total Favorable Scores for Each Human Resource Management Concept At XYZ
 Analysis of XYZ Group Case Study 9

Total Favorable Score

Strategy and Direction 91
Customer Focus 91
Diversity and Inclusion 89
Well-Being 88
Ethics 87
Quality of Direct Manager 84
Communication 84
Leadership 83
Teamwork 82
Performance Management 82
Decision-Making 82
Work-Life Balance 81
Sustainable Engagement 81
Enablement 79
Empowerment and Innovation 76
Career Development 64
Organizational Change 62
Pay and Benefits 52
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100