Harvest Foods HR Strategy – 360 Feedback, Risk & Planning

Harvest Foods., a South African agricultural export company, employs over 500 employees across different departments. Known for its high-quality produce and international reach, the company has recently been grappling with a range of human resource challenges that are affecting its growth and workforce morale.

Although the company has an existing performance management system, recent employee surveys revealed dissatisfaction with the feedback process, which employees feel is one-sided and lacks actionable insights. To address this, the HR department has proposed introducing a 360-degree feedback system to better identify performance improvement areas and foster professional development. However, concerns have been raised about how the system will be implemented, including stakeholder roles and ensuring fairness and transparency.

The company is also dealing with economic pressures, shifts in consumer demand, and regulatory changes in the food industry. These factors have created risks, including workforce instability, skills shortages, and challenges in compliance. In addition, high turnover in key production roles and employee disengagement have further complicated the company’s operations.

In response to these challenges, Harvest Foods aims to align its human resource operations with its broader strategy to address local and global disruptions while maintaining its competitive edge.

You have been hired as an HR consultant to develop a comprehensive report for Harvest Foods. Using the scenario above, critically address the following:

Note: students are required to read beyond the scope of the scenario and module guide to answer the questions that follow. Foundations of literature include primary and secondary sources.

Question 1     (25 Marks)

In your report, recommend how Harvest Foods can effectively utilise the 360-degree feedback system to identify areas for performance improvement. In your analysis, critically discuss the key stakeholders involved in the process and outline their specific roles in ensuring the system’s success. Additionally, provide recommendations for best practices in conducting appraisals using this method to enhance its effectiveness, considering the company’s challenges and goals.

Question 2             (25 Marks)

Considering the challenges of globalisation and intense international competition, analyse the significance of human resource risk management at Harvest Foods. Reflect on how these external factors affect the company’s workforce and identify the specific risks involved in managing human resources in this competitive landscape. Furthermore, appraise the strategies and best practices that Harvest Foods can adopt to mitigate these risks and sustain its competitive advantage.

Question 3         (25 Marks)

Evaluate how human resource planning can be aligned with Harvest Foods’ strategic objectives to address the current local and global challenges in the agricultural export industry. Provide an outline of the workforce planning process to illustrate how this alignment can be effectively achieved.

Question 4           (25 Marks)

Examine how compensation systems and employee benefits affect workplace morale by discussing the different types that could be introduced at Harvest Foods. Furthermore, offer recommendations for optimising these systems to improve employee performance and align with the company’s goals, thereby boosting overall organisational performance.

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HRM Assignment Answers: Expert Answers on Above HR Strategy

360 degree feedback system

Application of 360 degree feedback system would help in capturing performance perspective from different stakeholders including supervisors, peers, subordinate and even customers. It is highly useful because it provides actionable insights in addition to top down evaluation.

Key stakeholders and roles

The key stakeholders include the HR department which is responsible for providing training to employees, managers providing developmental feedback, employees responsible for providing input, suppliers adding perspectives on service quality.

Best practices

The best practices include maintaining complete confidentiality and anonymity, emphasizing feedback, providing coaching and follow up action plans, and finally integrating results into training and development.

HR risk management

HR with management is highly important because it helps in addressing issues like skills shortages, turnover, compliance issues and disengagement.

Impact of external factors

Economic factors driving cost cutting which may increase the turnover, consumer shifts in demand requiring changes to the products and services, and regulations which might require changes to ensure compliance avoiding penalties.

Risks identified

The risks identified are instability within the workforce, skill gaps in technology, high turnover rate, and compliance and ethical risks.

Strategies and best practices

Focus on developing talent, strengthen employee engagement, ensure compliance through regular reviewing and implement retention focused HR policies.

HR planning aligned with strategy

It is important to ensure that the HR planning is completely aligned with the strategy because it leads to the right people with right skills to support Harvest Food growth and sustainable strategy.

Workforce planning process

The planning process includes a series of steps including environmental scan, demand forecasting, supply analysis, gap analysis, action plans, and monitoring and review 

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