In 2000, Walmart realized that it could not continue the same staffing levels an

Question

In 2000, Walmart realized that it could not continue the same staffing levels and still make a profit. After realizing the economy was going to have an influence on the future talent needed in the organization, Walmart decided it needed to reinvent its human resource management practices to make them more effective. One issue they noticed was waste created through paper-based HR practices such as written performance evaluations, employee hiring forms, selection assessment tests, and pay stubs. Walmart decided that its HR system would need to become more technology- focused and less paper-based. Human resource executives realized that they would need to overhaul their current systems and communicate changes to their current staff and employees. Therefore, they came up with a plan that included hiring employees to design technology-based HR systems, training employees on the new technology, and creating an internal site to share information based on the new systems. HR notified employees of these changes by creating an employee newsletter focused on the new technology and deploying a computer-based seminar.

Outline the basic process for HR strategy by indicating the order in which each of the functions should be completed

Explanation / Answer

An overhaul of the current system/practices of Walmart will need an effective execution of the change management project. The transition from old system/practices to the new digital system may not be easy and it requires careful and planned change management approach. Such a change management project may be executed in the following stages:

1. A dedicated team to carry out this change management project can be prepared. This team may include representatives from different functions that might be affected with this change. This will help in managing different stakeholders of this project.

2. Planning how the new system will work: The newly formed project team should have a clear understanding of how the processes will work with new technology focused and paperless system. The process flow for each HR function (and other affected functions) should be drawn and it should be redesigned based on new technology available. At the end of this phase, the project management (PM) team should have a clear understanding of process flows with the new systems.

3. Development of tools to implement new systems: Once the PM team have designed process flow with the new system, resources can be deployed to develop the tools to implement new systems.

4. Developing communication plans to communicate about the new system: Effective communication of new system to the process owners is essential. It needs careful planning to communicate the changes to the process owners. Change is difficult and people often resist change, so it is important to take into consideration the opinions of different stakeholders. Workshops and training should be organized to communicate and train employees to work with new systems. Their concerns should be addressed with utmost care. The new system might not be implemented until the employees are confident with the new system.

5. The transition from the old system to the new system should be made as smooth as possible. For example, for some time both the system can run in parallel and employees may be asked for their feedback about the new system. Changes in the new system should be made according to the feedback received. The new system should come in operation as a natural transition.  

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