Finance Industry Research and Developing a Strategic Plan Paper Example

The finance industry is critical to any economy in the world. This is the sector that controls how the world economy moves. It can cause a country to go through a recession or cause inflation levels to rise. Over the past years, the financial sector has caused very significant changes in the global markets. Many people have suffered as a result of the different activities that happen in financial firms. Incidentally, in 2008, the world felt the impact of the recession that occurred. This situation even led to the collapse of one of the biggest financial companies in the world, the Lehman brothers (Liao, Joshi & Martocchio, 2010). This consequently caused a series of effects on other businesses around the world and resulted in a recession that negatively affected many people as the majority of people lost their life savings while thousands of other people lost their jobs. Different businesses in the financial sector include; insurance, banking, securities trading, investment banking, and financial planning among others. This sector is therefore very sensitive and needs proper management to ensure its success and to avoid such adverse effects on individuals as well as businesses.

As the director of human resource management in a finance company, I am tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that people working in my firm not only possess the hard skills required to get their jobs done but are also ethical and socially responsible. They must also put the interests of other people ahead of their own interests since they have been entrusted with their money. Some people have even put all their life savings in financial institutions and therefore it is important to ensure that their resources are well protected and managed.

Different skills are crucial in human resource management particularly in the finance sector. First, there is the role of organizing strategies that will be used in solving different issues that arise in the organization. To be able to find the way forward, I have the role of analyzing different situations in a bid to find the underlying problems (Liao, Joshi & Martocchio, 2010). Once the issues are identified, I have the responsibility of thinking critically and strategically to come up with the best course of action. The decisions made must also be in line with the organizations objectives.

I also have the role of implementing human resource strategies by staffing the organization through; talent acquisition, processing employment procedures, providing the employees with welfare and health benefits, managing all labor relations, ensuring that all employees are properly compensated in accordance with the agreed terms, and carrying out training and development activities for all employees.

Another significant role for me as the director of human resources is to manage all operations required of the human resources department. These include; selecting, recruiting, training, orienting, and coaching the employees. Additionally, I have the duty of ensuring that all employees who fail to comply with the provided rules are disciplined accordingly (Belbin, 2011). Moreover, I have the role of reviewing staff performance and implementing change in the different departments.

In relation to finance, I have a role in developing the financial strategies in the human resource sector. This entails providing an estimation and forecast of the resources required in all activities. Another duty involves the anticipation of requirements, variances, and trends in finances and aligning financial resources to all the activities involved. Finally, I have the task of developing action plans and consequently performing an analysis of the results in a bid to initiate corrective actions and reduce the effects of variances (Belbin, 2011). All these responsibilities require proper coordination for the entire organization to run smoothly. The duties that the human resource department needs to fulfill include are grouped into; planning, organizing, directing, coaching, and controlling duties (Liao, Joshi & Martocchio, 2010). All these activities must be carried simultaneously as shown in the figure below to ensure maximum efficiency.

Figure 1

Human resources management requires meticulous strategic planning to carry out all its functions. Planning is, therefore, the primary duty of management. It involves the creation of a future course of action. To do so, it is vital to make decisions earlier on, to decide on the most appropriate course of action to take to achieve the different goals (Belbin, 2011). Planning is vital both in decision making and problem-solving. It aids in ensuring that resources, both human and non-human, are appropriately utilized. Additionally, it helps in reducing risks, as well as avoiding uncertainties and wastages.

Organization is the process in which human, financial, and physical resources are brought together, and a productive relationship developed amongst them to achieve the goals set by the organization (Martocchio, 2008). The organization process involves; identification of the activities that need to be fulfilled, classification and assignment of duties, delegation and creation of responsibilities, and coordination of authority and relationships.

Staffing refers to the process in which the organization is manned. Today, staffing has become very crucial in organizations due to technological advancement, globalization, and complexity in the human behavior (Liao, Joshi & Martocchio, 2010). The primary purpose of staffing is to ensure that the right people work on the right job for them. This, therefore, involves effective and proper selection as well as staff development and appraisal.

Directing involves the process of ensuring that all organizational methods work excellently to aid in the achievement of the organizations objectives. It is the management aspect that deals with guiding, influencing, supervising, and motivating the staff to achieve organizational goals (Markoulli, Felps, Byington & Lee, 2017). It, therefore, deals with four main activities. These include; communication, motivation, supervision, and leadership.

Finally, controlling involves the establishment of the standard performance levels which are decided upon by the use of different key performance indicators and the measurement of staffs performance levels. It also involves corrective actions for any negative deviations and rewards for excellent performance in accordance to set standards. All these activities need to work together in harmony to ensure that the right people join the organization and they are as productive as possible.

Projected future trends

The finance industry is rapidly changing mainly due to the continuous development of technology. Today, very many changes are occurring in the finance industry including emerging payment rails, the emergence of a cashless world, alternative ways of lending such as crowdfunding, streamlined infrastructure in finance, and customer empowerment (Belbin, 2011). All these changes require the human resources management to be well prepared to train employees on most of these emerging changes and to also bring in new employees who will add value to the organization. Moreover, it will require the employees to be appraised to ensure that they are performing properly.

Currently, there are very many organizations which are using social media in the recruitment process. Statistics have also shown that ninety-two percent of recruiters are using different social media channels to validate and identify candidates (Markoulli, Felps, Byington & Lee, 2017). Human resource departments are also largely using advanced machine learning in the process of recruitment. This involves data analysis and different personalization practices to find the best employees for a given job.

Society is also very diverse today, and the human resource management has a role of employing people from different ethnic groups, races, and religions with no discrimination. Diversity in the organization will bring increased productivity and interactions that are mutually beneficial towards all employees. Women are also participating in the workforce to a great extent, and this has made it paramount for organizations to include women at all levels of the company (Martocchio, 2008). A workforce that is diverse is therefore necessary because it increases cultural awareness and sensitivity in firms and individuals. Society is also very focused on the environment, and it is now geared towards corporate social responsibility. The human resource team should, therefore, assess the organizations readiness for change and the potential impact that may be brought about by the change.

It is vital for the human resource management to ensure that employees are highly engaged in the organization. They should also ensure that talent is retained in the organization and reduce employee turnover to save organizational costs in hiring and training new employees. Additionally, it should compensate the employees fairly in accordance with their work and develop them to become leaders by growing their personal and professional skills.

The economic environment of a country is critical to any financial organization. This is because it directly affects how a company performs. If the financial status of a state is extremely poor, it may call for the firm to let go of some of the employees. This will, therefore, require the human resources management of the company to assess the working employees and see who are the least productive or those whose roles are no longer needed by the organization during this period (Markoulli, Felps, Byington & Lee, 2017). This is an unfortunate occurrence because the company may lose some very talented workers, but at this point, this is an exercise that has to occur to avoid losses. Conversely, when the economy is performing well, the organization may need new employees. Today, the global market is very interconnected such that a problem in one country may affect the global financial market, so it is essential for the human resource management team to be aware of what is happening globally to be well prepared in case of such occurrences.

It is also crucial for organizations to be aware of the political situation of the country where they are carrying out business activities. This is to ensure that they are not caught unawares by different political occurrences that may negatively affect the business. These may include political instability or laws that may have an impact on business operations.

As the director of human resource management at a finance company, I have the role of making sure that customers are well attended to. Customer service is of extreme importance to any organization and should, therefore, be appropriately implemented. I would make sure that all customers are served on time to reduce queues and thus enhance the customers experience. To be able to provide customers with high-quality customer service, I would first understand their needs and identify areas in our service that have gaps. I would also ensure that technology is used appropriately in customer services. For instance, I would ensure that customers who call the organization for any assistance are helped immediately and not put on hold. Additionally, since the finance industry involves a lot of technology advancements, I would ensure that customers are well advised on different technology matters.

The human resource department is one area of the organization in which ethics indeed matter. This is mainly because it deals with different human issues such as compensation, industrial relations, development, and safety and health matters (Martocchio, 2008). I would ensure th...