This case study introduces a new human resources director responsible for developing a more strategic human resources function. As she begins in the role and starts to implement changes, she faces many challenges and much resistance. The case study showcases the need for strong communication and change management when introducing both small and large changes within an organization. It also deepens the understanding of change management, the implementation process, and the behaviors and organizational factors required for success.

Case Study

The Grant Corporation is a financial services firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Its revenue exceeded $$1$ billion last year, producing a net income of $$530$ million. It has just over $1,000$ employees. Although the organization has been in business for almost $10$ years, it has experienced rapid expansion in the past two years due to tremendous business growth and a merger with the Enelrad Group, another local firm. Managers have had difficulty keeping up with this growth, especially in the HR department, which has been stretched thin to keep up with staffing needs and other, mainly administrative, duties.

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Six months ago, the CEO, Todd Jackson, recognized the need to expand the size and functionality of the HR department and hired Julia Woodland to be its director, reporting directly to him. This was a newly created position. Its incumbent would replace the HR administrator, who had previously reported to the VP of Finance and decided to retire when the new HR position was announced.$$

When Woodland was hired, Jackson told her she would have "full reign" to create a more strategically focused HR department that would be better equipped to handle the organization's needs. She had quite a bit of experience at her previous company and was eager to take on the task.$$

Although the organization used advanced technology for its business applications. The HR department was still using a basic payroll processing software program and Excel spreadsheets to track various categories of employee information, including personal data, benefits enrollments, performance evaluation schedules, and compensation. All payroll and benefits information was manually entered into these respective systems. Most of the information had to be entered into multiple spreadsheets when there was a change. The department could not keep up with the information needs$$ new hires were getting paid incorrectly or not at all. Benefits enrollments were delayed or contained mistakes, and performance evaluations and pay raises were late. The printed employee handbook benefits binder and orientation materials were in serious need updating. In addition, the company had $16$ open positions and stacks of resumes everywhere. It was no wonder that the HR administrator had decided to retire!$$

Julia Woodland spent long hours trying to determine what she could do to address her new department's immediate and long$-$term concerns. She brought in a temporary employee to help her staff file, process paperwork, and enter data. She focused on hiring two higher$-$level HR representatives and a payroll clerk. She turned to a staffing agency to help the firm identify candidates for open positions, including those in HR$.$ Finally, she proposed the purchase of an integrated payroll$/$HRIS capable of integrating with the finance department's system and the organization's benefit and $401($k$)$ providers' systems. The proposed software solution also offered a Web$-$based employee portal, which would allow employees to view information online and change their data. Jackson responded favorably and told her to $"$go ahead and do whatever she needed to do to fix the mess." The next day, Woodland contracted with the HRIS provider.$$

Woodland spent the next week meeting with her new HRIS vendor representative to discuss the installation and implementation of the system. Because she was so overwhelmed and wanted to get the new system in as quickly as possible, she did not have time to discuss the project with her staff immediately $.$ However, she knew that employees would be excited about the new system and the opportunities it would open up for them as the burden of administrative tasks eased. She closed her door during the meetings so that participants could concentrate. She wanted to implement the system by January $1$ so that the company's year$-$end payroll data were accurate and managers could track other data on an annual basis with a full year of data. Since she had been through the process in the past and was familiar with such systems. She figured that she could manage the implementation with the help of IT and her staff as needed. She would make all critical decisions to move the project along and meet her deadline.$$

The current HR staff consisted of an HR assistant and two generalists who seemed to function as clerks and recruiters. They had all been hired at the same time more than five years ago when the HR ad