HR Planning Case Study Essay

Xerox is a widely known firm worldwide, but it has been through numerous crises in the past decade. In fact, at one point several years ago, there were questions about Xerox surviving as a firm. But no longer. Under the leading of Anne Mulcahy as CEO, Xerox has rebounded. Numerous strategic business and financial decisions had to be made, including reducing the workforce by 30,000. But Mulcahy also stressed that HR had to sound a more strategic contributor. One of the actions taken was to consolidate a number of HR functions from different busi-ness units into a corporate HR Service Center.This kernel performs many administrative trans-actions, and has added Internet- based systems to make HR services more accessible to managers and employees. To track employees views on the company and HR, employee surveys on the company in-tranet have been use for several years. Areas at which lower scores were recorded have been addressed by HR staff and other managers. The survey results have led to some other primary focus at Xerox employee retention.With all of the reductions and organizational restructurings, keeping the remaining employees, especially high- potential ones, has been a continuing emphasis. Xerox has invested significant fourth dimension and resources into training and development of its employees, an important retention factor. Greater use of e- learning, technology, and leadership development have paid off in reducing turnover and convert employees that career opportunities exist at Xerox. Continuing com-petitive pressures are presenting new challenges for Xerox and its HR staff. The strategic importance of HR has been demonstrated in the past, and looks to be a part of the firms future.