CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Upon investigating the roles and functions of HR professionals in corporate crisis management in Taiwan, some conclusions and recommendations can be derived from the findings. Based on the review and analysis of data collected from the Delphi instrument performed to the 20 panel experts of HR roles and functions in crisis management, summaries of the conclusions and suggestions for both academic and business purpose are illustrated in the following section.
Conclusions
Based on the research purposes and findings, the conclusions are drawn to present the answers to the questions being proposed on HR’s roles and functions in Taiwan corporate crisis management.
After the literature review, it reveals that there are five strategic roles and 30 functions for HR professionals to fulfill in the corporate crisis management.
As presented on page 31 and page 35, summarized from relevant literature, there are five roles and 30 functions for HR professionals to play in the corporate crisis management. The five roles are Change Agent, Employee Champion, Administrative Expert, Collaborator and Advocate. The 30 functions are as follows.
A: Change Agent
A-1 To prepare a written guideline for crisis management throughout the organization.
A-2 To lead the discussion of the future of the organization’s workforce.
A-3 To utilize the scenario planning to help plan for unexpected events.
A-4 To launch a formal Employee Crisis Support Team.
A-5 To review organizational policies and programs related to crisis management.
A-6 To keep alert to the changes in the social environment and the organization personnel.
B: Employee Champion
B-1 To develop and deploy a Family Crisis Support Program.
B-2 To establish an online page with information about employee benefits and other employee-related policies and programs.
B-3 To promote trustful and prepared leadership throughout the organization to help reassure employees of their safety.
B-4 To educate the management and the line managers to effectively deal with stress and pressures when confronted.
B-5 To frequently update company news about the status of the recovery efforts in
order to squash rumors and reassure employees by communicating with the workforce about company’s readiness and preparedness.
B-6 To set up and moderate a message board, where employees have a chance to discuss among themselves their feelings of grief and loss, and to share ideas about how they can help others.
B-7 To provide some closure, like putting out a special internal magazine, highlighting what employees have done to cope with the crisis, and recognizing their contribution.
C: Administrative Expert
C-1 To develop an advance plan for tracking and locating the company’s employees in a disaster.
C-2 To develop an advance plan for reestablishing contact with victim employees’
families and survivors.
C-3 To stay abreast of all the latest multimedia communications gadgets for getting the company’s message out.
C-4 To help locate missing employees and make a list of those outside of the organization and losing contact.
C-5 To periodically review and revise the crisis management guidelines and its procedures.
C-6 To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the crisis management team after a crisis
D: Collaborator
D-1 To work with managers of all departments to select employees more resilient and assign them to be in responsible for crisis management and disaster recovery.
D-2 To work with managers of all departments to screen employees with high risks and put them in the priority list of observation and counseling.
D-3 To help prepare cross-department emergency response / business continuity teams for a disaster event.
D-4 To work with the cross-department CM team to have the crisis mocks and drill the task assignments.
D-5 To work with IT to create an emergency website and a mechanism of crisis communication that will be ready for quick launch.
D-6 To work with PR to increase the identification and organizational image from both internal and external stakeholders.
E: Advocate
E-1 To design and deploy crisis awareness programs across the organization.
E-2 To campaign the importance and appropriateness of organizational culture in organizational transformation and crisis management.
E-3 To promote and organize the CM team and business continuity team.
E-4 To promote and deploy crisis-specific succession planning.
E-5 To promote the importance of housing HR records in another geographic location.
After the literature review and three rounds of Delphi study, the conclusions have shown that HR professionals have five strategic roles and 41 functions to fulfill in Taiwan corporate crisis management.
According to the literature and research findings, it can be concluded that there are five roles and 41 functions for HR professionals to play in Taiwan corporate crisis management. The five agreed-upon roles are Change Agent, Employee Champion, Administrative Expert, Collaborator and Advocate. The other 11 agreed-upon functions are, in addition to the 30 functions summarized from the literature, as follows.
A: Change Agent
A-7 To suggest proper organizational transformations according to the organizational operating strategy and the environment.
A-8 To strengthen line managers’ knowledge on organizational transformation by providing training on organizational change and development.
B: Employee Champion
B-8 To set an annual week or month of CM and hold CM drills.
B-9 To invite the CEO or chief director to communicate with the workforce about the company’s mission, strategy, readiness and preparedness face to face or through papers.
C: Administrative Expert
C-7 To immediately keep contact with the governmental authorities concerned and provide necessary assistance.
C-8 To assist the needed employees and their families after the crisis.
D: Collaborator
D-7 To understand the knowledge and ability that employees of different functions have to deal with contingency by visiting directors of each department in the organization.
E: Advocate
E-6 To suggest different vehicles, different schedules for employees when arranging employee travel or other big events.
E-7 To prepare a fanny-pack handbook detailing reactive procedures for predictable crises, such as earthquakes, typhoons, shutdown, strikes and gang fighting, for employees to bring with them.
E-8 To frequently advocate to the workforce organizational transformation as organizational strategy to survival and growth.
Collaborator, Employee Champion, Change Agent and Administrative Expert are the most important roles for HR professionals in Taiwan corporate crisis management.
Within the five roles for HR to play in Taiwan corporate crisis management, Collaborator and Employee Champion are the top two extreme important ones, followed by Change Agent, Administrative Expert. The role of being Advocate only reaches
Being Employee Champion is the most practicable role for HR professionals in Taiwan corporate crisis management.
Although HR’s five roles in Taiwan corporate crisis management are overall considered highly important, their practicability seems to be lower than expected. The practicability of Employee Champion is rated extremely high, which corresponds to HR’s nature. The practicability of Collaborator, Administrative and Change Agent is also agreed upon. However, Advocate fails to reach practicability in the context of Taiwan corporate crisis management, where human resources department has often been positioned as a reactive staff unit.
20 of the 41 functions for HR professionals to implement in Taiwan corporate crisis management reach “extreme significance” level.
The four extremely significant functions affiliated to Change Agent are: A-1, A2, A4, A6. The three extremely significant functions affiliated to Employee Champion are: B-1, B-4, B-5. The eight extremely significant functions affiliated to Administrative Expert are:
E-1, E-2, E-3, E-4, E-5, E-6, E-7, E-8. The two extremely significant functions affiliated to Collaborator are: D-1, D-3. The three extremely significant functions affiliated to Advocate are: E-5, E-6, E-7. The other 21 functions all each significance level.
9 of the 41 functions for HR professionals to implement in Taiwan corporate crisis management reach “extreme practicability” level.
The one extremely practicable function affiliated to Change Agent is: A-1.The five extremely practicable functions affiliated to Change Agent are: B-4, B-5, B-6, B-7, B-8.
The three extremely practicable functions affiliated to Change Agent are: E-5, E-6, E-7.
However, eight functions, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-4, E-1, E-2, E-3 and E-4 fail to reach practicability.
Recommendations
Recommendations for businesses
On the basis of the foregoing study, the following recommendations for businesses are made:
1. That candidates being sensitive to the environment, versed in communication and cooperation, and having active, flexible and open-minded personalities are more than appropriate to be a representative of crisis management team in an organization.
2. That the organization should make the best use of HR’s role and functions as Collaborator in crisis management to build a cohesive connection among departments, to encourage open channels for communication and to create a win-win situation for all the internal stakeholders.
3. That since HR’s role and functions as Administrative Expert in crisis management is highly recognized, it should be counted upon and encouraged to constantly review the efficiency and efficacy of the organization’s crisis management process for the sake of continuity.
4. That employees are the most valuable asset of the organization; thus, with HR professionals’ assistance, the management should fully support a comprehensive Employee and Family Crisis Support Plan and training / education for employees’
preparation for potential transformations, regardless of the size of the company.
5. That the significance of employees’ readiness for pressures and stresses in crises
cannot be ignored, which is concerned with decision making and organizational survival. Therefore, HR should be equipped with authority to arrange seminars or lessons on the issue.
6. That HR should be and is deserved to be regarded as a counterpart of CFO (chief financial officer), as noted by Jack Welch (2005). The organizations in Taiwan should be advised to position HR department from a reactive staff unit to a proactive one as Advocate in crisis management.
7. That this study can be a reference for HR interviewers to check whether or not the interviewees applying for HR department own the knowledge on HR’s roles and functions in crisis management and/or have experiences in the process.
8. That the list of HR’s roles and functions presented in this study can be a checklist for the organization and HR department to prepare for the unthinkable.
9. That the list of HR’s roles and functions presented in this study can be a checklist for HR professionals to strengthen his/her capabilities and professionalism and pursue advanced career.
Recommendations for academic institutions
On the basis of the foregoing study, the following recommendations for academic institutions are made:
1. That HR has played an integral role in corporate crisis management. Students enrolled within the next five to ten years will weave the fabric of the philosophy and values which will envelop and lend strength to HR field. With the rapid, complex change of the environment, it is imperative to incorporate the issue of crisis management into the lessons / course framework, to hold CM simulation competitions and to consolidate
students’ understanding of HR’s strategic roles in the process.
2. That employees are human resource professionals’ primary concerns; therefore, the academic institutions may consider to cooperate with counseling education and counseling providers to prepare students with relevant knowledge and skills. The counseling training may enable HR professionals to discern employees at risk and take proper measures against disasters in time; to reassure the employees with empathy and adequate communication techniques during a crisis; to reorganize the worried or traumatic workforce and put them back in track as soon as possible after a crisis.
3. That the conclusion of this study reveals indispensable characteristics of a competent HR professional—good communication and cooperation/teamwork skills. The academic institutions should encourage students to develop such capabilities and provide them with opportunities to practice.
Recommendations for future research
On the basis of the foregoing study, the following recommendations for further studies are made:
1. That a similar study should be conducted to gather other stakeholders’ perspectives regarding HR’s roles and functions in the corporate crisis management, such as directors from departments other than HR. With the comparison of different perspectives, it helps clarify HR’s roles and functions in corporate crisis management.
2. That the study was conducted to diversified industries based on the availability of the subjects. Deriving from this approach, another approach that can be considered is to concentrate on one industry of study. Focusing on one industry can bring powerful,
field.
3. That an additional round of HR’s functions in CM should be conducted to arrive at a more conclusive consensus of opinion.
4. That an interview with the panel experts should be arranged to further clarify the inconsistency between the findings and literature.
