Ashford University Business Writing Internal Memo Paper

Scenario

Dr. Thompson has asked your HR team at CapraTek an essential question: “How do we attract and keep scientists instead of losing good people to our competitors?” The organization has been losing junior and senior scientists at a steady rate, and no one really understands why this is happening. The HR team has been engaged in learning the employee life cycle and collecting information about employee needs via the engagement research. Now it is time to select a technology platform that will meet those needs from onboarding to helpful recognition processes that continue to make employees feel successful in their work throughout their tenure at the company.Purchasing the Gallup suite of tools is not on the table due to the huge cost of implementation for a medium-sized regional company like CapraTek.

Your Challenge

As an HR team member, you have been assigned this task that has come at Dr. Thompson’s request. Research HR platforms so you can help to select the best tool to adopt for the employees’ needs at CapraTek.

Instructions

1. Read the following articles and select the 4–6 appropriate criteria to evaluate the HR platforms you will research.

• Florentine, S. (2019). What is an HRIS? A key tool for all your human resources needs. CIO.
  • This is an essential article to describe the kind of platforms that are used and some of the companies who produce them. This resource should be the first thing you read about HR systems because it gives important definitions and background, plus it will steer you in the right direction to start your research for the assessment.
• Makkar, U., & Sanjeev, R. (2014). Determining employees perception through effective HRIS: An empirical study. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 3(3).
  • This short study is also essential to provide background information about the kind of functionality that an HRIS provides to an organization. This resource helps you to understand the components or criteria that should be part of an HR platform solution so you can research platforms to find one that suits the needs of CapraTek.

2. Select and research as many HR platforms/tools that are capable of performing recruiting, onboarding, tracking training and education requirements, and identifying internal career pathways as you can.

• Options for HR platforms of this type are available in industry literature and the marketplace.

3. Write a 3–4 page internal memo about your recommended platform and evaluate it against the criteria from the provided articles. Does it meet the needs of employees at each stage of the employee life cycle and meet the organization’s needs for all of the capabilities? Include the following in your internal memo:

• To, From, Internal Memo: Select HR Platform, Date.
• Follow a format similar to a normal paper, including an introduction, conclusion, and the following elements:
  • Explain the 4–6 criteria you selected to evaluate the tools from one or both articles listed in this assessment.
  • Evaluate platforms for their capability to meet each employee at their respective stage of life cycle and level of expertise.
  • Evaluate platforms for their capability to meet the organization’s needs for recruiting; onboarding; tracking, training, and education requirements; and identifying internal career pathways.
  • Select the most appropriate tool(s) to recommend for adoption by leadership.
  • Explain your rationale for HR platform selection based on the criteria you selected and how the selected tool meets all of the needs of the individual employees and the organization at CapraTek, especially the scientists.

Submission Requirements

The deliverable for this assessment applies professional skills in Human Resources Management (HRM) to workplace situations which you will likely encounter in your day-to-day work in HRM. As part of your learning, we focus on the development of effective professional communication skills for the workplace. Additional requirements include the following:

• Length of paper: Your memorandum should be 3–4 double-spaced pages, including the resources page.
• Organization: Make sure that your assessment writing is well-organized, using headings and subheadings to organize content for the reader.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
• Number of resources: A minimum of four resources, not including course readings.
• Evidence: Support your assertions with data and in-text citations. Use current APA format for in-text citations and create a reference list at the end of your documents.
• APA formatting: Resources and in-text citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
• Written communication:
  • Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
  • Write for a specific audience, using the vernacular of the profession.
  • Use spell-check and other tools to ensure correct spelling and grammar.