significant staff cutbacks
answer the
following questions:
1. Discuss the challenges faced by HR management when
significant staff cutbacks occur and how they should be addressed.
2. Use of technology, employee retention, and HR development
have been at the core of HR becoming more strategic at Xerox. Why have those
areas been so key?
CASE:
Xerox is a widely known firm worldwide, but it has been
through numerous crises in the past decade. In fact, at one point several years
ago, there were questions about Xerox surviving as a firm. But no longer. Under
the leadership of Anne Mulcahy as CEO, Xerox has rebounded. Numerous strategic
business and financial decisions had to be made, including reducing the
workforce by 30,000. But Mulcahy also stressed that HR had to become a more
strategic contributor. One of the actions taken was to consolidate a number of
HR functions from different busi-ness units into a corporate HR Service Center.
This center performs many administrative trans-actions, and has added Internet-
based systems to make HR services more accessible to managers and employees. To
track employees’ views on the company and HR, employee surveys on the company
in-tranet have been used for several years. Areas at which lower scores were
recorded have been addressed by HR staff and other managers. The survey results
have led to another primary focus at Xerox: employee retention. With all of the
reductions and organizational restructurings, keeping the remaining employees,
especially high- potential ones, has been a continuing emphasis. Xerox has
invested significant time and resources into training and development of its
employees, an important retention factor. Greater use of e- learning,
technology, and leadership development have paid off in reducing turnover and
convincing employees that career opportunities exist at Xerox. Continuing
com-petitive pressures are presenting new challenges for Xerox and its HR
staff. The strategic importance of HR has been demonstrated in the past, and
looks to be a part of the firm’s future.
