Change Is in the Air - R&r Holdings Ltd.

Abstract

This research paper discusses the effects of Poor Scheduling of employees at a private limited company in Bangladesh. I worked as an Executive at the Corporate Finance department of R&R Holdings which is a Concern of Sikder Group. It is one of the largest private group of companies in Bangladesh and also has its operations overseas. However, having such a well-established brand name the company lacked internal management/administrative system which resulted in excessive working hours for its employees (which included working in weekends as well). Therefore, in order to recommend some solutions and I had an interview with Mr. Mahfuzur Rahman Head of the Corporate Finance Department. The interview gave us an idea of a recent working condition at the company and also provided us with how the working hours will be in the future. The findings of this research consists of flexible-scheduling, compensation packages, transportation facilities and other incentives as recommendation for its employees. The research also outlines certain implementations that has been adopted by the company to enhance the life of its employees.

Poor Scheduling of Employees at R&R Holdings Ltd.

I worked as an Executive – Corporate Finance at the R&R Holdings (A Concern of Sikder Group). It is one of the top and finest private limited company in Bangladesh. It has a diversified business portfolio which consists of Real Estate, Aviation, Power Plants, Banks, Restaurants, and Hotels & Leisure etc. in Bangladesh and abroad.

Problem:

Despite having a brand name with global recognition, the company lacked internal control systems in key areas such as the administration which resulted in poor scheduling for its employees. We had to work six days a week (Saturday was considered as a regular working day with regular working hours). Moreover, there were no routine exit time, we would work 12 hours or more most of the days and often worked on Fridays working regular hours. This problem was contributing towards lower productivity, increased absenteeism and dissatisfaction which eventually converted into increased employee turnover (Horn & Griffeth, 1991). Moreover, employees were losing respect for the organization for which they worked and the extra workload was building up frustration among employees which led to potential conflicts among fellow employees, managers and eventually employers.  

Recommendations:

The implementation of flexible-scheduling can help to reduce the problem of decreased employee productivity, absenteeism and turnover. On the other hand, it will help to boost up employee morale and satisfaction (Dalton & Mesch 1990). The flexible-scheduling provides the employees with the opportunity to spread their working hours throughout the day, and helps employees from getting bombarded with long and horrifying working hours for days at a stretch. This arrangement will allow an employee with the flexibility to work extra to fulfill tasks that requires longer hours. Flexible-scheduling can enhance both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation of the employees (Ronen 1981). Improved working condition will infer increased extrinsic motivation for employees, moreover, this will also improve the relationship between employee’s and the manager because the flexible working hours will allow them to be more productive and satisfied. Long working hours often leads to tardiness and absenteeism which are the areas of major conflicts between the management and the employees. Furthermore, the flexibility of the working hours will provide the employees to work with more freedom and help them perform their duties with greater responsibilities. On the top of that, the flexible-scheduling mechanism will provide the employees with the opportunities to concentrate on non-work responsibilities like spending time with families, friends and relatives and also working on their personal agendas. This will create a harmony between an employee’s working time and his or her personal time. All these will result in an increased intrinsic motivation for the employees. The most important factor with the flexible-rescheduling system would be reduced absenteeism and enhanced employee efficiency because this mechanism will allow the employees with a greater freedom of choice, as to which duties should be given a higher preference since the flexible-scheduling will enable them to complete a task that has a greater priority. The flexible-scheduling system will also result in increased employee “commitment” because employees will be more obliged to return the company with better performance because of the benefit they reap from the initiative the company has taken to improve the lives of its employees (Morris & Sherman 1981). Increased employee satisfaction and commitment will eventually result in reduced employee turnover for the organization that has adopted the flexible-schedule mechanism as a means of rectifying and resolving the administrative concerns associated with increased employee absenteeism, turnover and the lack of employee productivity and commitment. Moreover, this mechanism might also solve other loopholes that might make the administration weaker for a company.

The main reason for the long shifts and working hours was due to the fact that our higher level management and especially our employer needs us in order to attain certain goals directed towards achieving the organization’s long term vision. Since we are key individuals and we have certain major roles to play, the management should compensate us for working extra hours and especially when we work on Fridays. There is no system of overtime in our company especially for the Corporate Finance department. Moreover, our employers should also provide us with transport facilities especially when the exit time from office exceeds beyond 10.pm. After this time slot, public transport availability tends to decrease and often we are charged with a high fare compare to other timings during the day. Despite having unexceptional long hours we end up spending a significant amount of our salary on travelling expenses and it creates a constraint on our budget. A compensation package along with the transport facilities will motivate the employees to work productively even if they have to work longer hours and also work full time during the weekends. Therefore, a compensation package in terms of flexible pay which consists of variable payments in terms of profit-sharing, bonuses, incentives, goal oriented pays, and overtime etc. can be crucial in improving work motivation and job satisfaction (Igalens & Roussel 1999). However, for some employees like myself reducing the time spent at office is the best motivating factor despite knowing the various benefits of working long hours (Herzberg, 1986). Therefore, companies should adopt more flexible-scheduling mechanism, should provide part-time working facilities and should allow employees to pursue other important needs especially after the regular working hours.