MGMT 310
Strategy and Human Resources Planning: Case Study 1: Small Company Uses HR as a Strategic Tool for Growth
Joining Gratterpalm as HR manager five years ago was a challenging proposition—both for the company and for myself. An award-winning independent retail marketing agency based in Leeds, Gratterpalm creates advertising, point of sale, and design for major clients including the United Kingdom grocery giant ASDA and the sofa retailer DFS.
When I joined the agency in January 2003, Gratterpalm had no HR function whatsoever. Originally a family-run business, it had grown, over twenty-five years, to a team of seventy and had just undergone a management buyout.
The key to introducing HR to Gratterpalm was to introduce a performance review tool that allowed us to benchmark the success of a people-centered culture and allowed every employee the opportunity to have their say. We therefore launched “Gratter chatter,” an employee survey that has become the bedrock of the agency's HR function. The initial survey highlighted several issues within the agency that clearly needed to be addressed:
Team structures were unclear; people did not know who their line manager was and reporting lines were blurred in some departments.
Work/life balance was poor.
There was a lack of understanding of company values.
Only 66 percent stated they enjoyed working at Gratterpalm.
There was a low commitment to training and development.
Employees did not believe the survey was confidential or anonymous, so there was an initial lack of trust and only 70 percent completion.
P. 83
Many initiatives have been taken to address the issues thrown up by the first and subsequent surveys. These include:
Clearly defined role profiles, so everyone understands their role.
Biannual people asset reviews to ensure that we are aware of all employee development needs and are able to take relevant action.
To help address the work/life balance we introduced a “justification to recruit” procedure to
Joining Gratterpalm as HR manager five years ago was a challenging proposition—both for the company and for myself. An award-winning independent retail marketing agency based in Leeds, Gratterpalm creates advertising, point of sale, and design for major clients including the United Kingdom grocery giant ASDA and the sofa retailer DFS.
When I joined the agency in January 2003, Gratterpalm had no HR function whatsoever. Originally a family-run business, it had grown, over twenty-five years, to a team of seventy and had just undergone a management buyout.
The key to introducing HR to Gratterpalm was to introduce a performance review tool that allowed us to benchmark the success of a people-centered culture and allowed every employee the opportunity to have their say. We therefore launched “Gratter chatter,” an employee survey that has become the bedrock of the agency's HR function. The initial survey highlighted several issues within the agency that clearly needed to be addressed:
Team structures were unclear; people did not know who their line manager was and reporting lines were blurred in some departments.
Work/life balance was poor.
There was a lack of understanding of company values.
Only 66 percent stated they enjoyed working at Gratterpalm.
There was a low commitment to training and development.
Employees did not believe the survey was confidential or anonymous, so there was an initial lack of trust and only 70 percent completion.
P. 83
Many initiatives have been taken to address the issues thrown up by the first and subsequent surveys. These include:
Clearly defined role profiles, so everyone understands their role.
Biannual people asset reviews to ensure that we are aware of all employee development needs and are able to take relevant action.
To help address the work/life balance we introduced a “justification to recruit” procedure to