Overview

In this course, the Learner-Faculty Connect video assignment will be used for reflection, as well as to discuss your preparedness for upcoming weeks. This is a private conversation between you and your instructor, and you are encouraged to explore the concepts presented.

Prompt

In this mentor-focused video check-in, you will review the Project Guidelines and Rubric, which is due in Module Nine, and have an asynchronous discussion with your instructor regarding any initial concerns about the same.

You are encouraged to continue reaching out to your instructor so that any concerns and questions are addressed before the course project is due. Discuss your progress and concerns with your instructor through this video submission.

Record a short video in the Bongo Q&A tool, sharing your expectations and understanding of the scenario and corresponding requirements. Specifically address the following criteria:

• Share your thoughts and questions about the course project, including any questions or concerns you have regarding:
  • The role of communication in fostering or suppressing change
  • The role of strategic communication in sustaining change

• Share what you learned from completing the Milestone Two assignment and any feedback you received from the instructor, including any questions you may have about the same.
• Reflect on your personal experience working through the milestones and the process you followed.
  • How do the topics relate to your career journey?
  • Include any aspects that stood out, as you prepare to make your final recommendations in the project submission.

Note: If you have any additional questions or require additional support from your instructor, let your instructor know.

• • Are you struggling with any activity/chapter?
  • How can faculty help you with the final project?

Project Guidelines

Competencies

In this project, you will demonstrate mastery of the following competencies:

• Develop a workforce
• Propose an operating plan
• Justify organizational change

Scenario

You are an HR consultant, contracted by the VP of an LLC in Wilmington, Delaware, to solve their internal challenges. This U.S. office is a branch of a larger Singaporean software solutions organization that has a total of 140 employees and generates $1M in revenue per year. The CEO of this organization, headquartered in Singapore, wants to explore new markets in the United States, gain access to new customers, diversify risk, leverage resources, and increase profits.

Unfortunately, the newly formed U.S. branch has been facing several problems from the beginning.

• Employees at the call center and the sales and marketing division are disengaged and emotionally fatigued due to contradictory communication between the branchs leadership and the leadership at the Singaporean headquarters.
• The branch team members feel frustrated and undervalued as a result of conflicting feedback from their VP and management team.
• Messages from leadership lack consistency, especially regarding policies and practices related to human resources.
• There is no training for team members.
• Communication problems between the Singaporean headquarters and U.S. branch are resulting in low employee morale.

Overall, the standard operating procedures (SOP) followed successfully at the headquarters in Singapore could not be replicated at the U.S. branch. As a result, the CEOs vision of successfully furthering expansion into the U.S. market remains unfulfilled.

Your goal as an HR consultant is to create a change management toolkit that includes the following:

• A needs assessment or change readiness audit
• An organizational change management plan
• A change management communication plan
• A letter recommending strategies to ensure that the changes and their benefits are retained

To create the toolkit, you will compile your work from Milestones One and Two. So far, you have completed your change readiness audit and created a change management plan. Now, you will record and share a presentation to demonstrate your change management communication plan. This plan should include your recommendations for workforce development techniques and how you plan to communicate these to employees and leadership of the U.S. branch, as well as leadership at the Singaporean headquarters.

It is not enough to implement change successfully; efforts should also be made to sustain the change. You must also write an executive letter to the VP of the U.S. branch, recommending strategies and best practices to ensure that the changes are implemented and maintained.