Introduction

The RPZ Marketing Problem Statement

Lack of sufficient social media consultants who have undergone proper training is among the significant challenges that the RPZ marketing faces. After the implementation of the RPZ and Genaflek merger, RPZ went ahead with its operations without foreseeing the need for professional social media marketing to serve both the existing and new clients. On the other hand, Genaflek did move into the merger with their consultants. These consultants, however, had minimal knowledge necessary in the operations of social media marketing. This inadequacy has brought about several disadvantages in RPZ. For instance, the consultants from Genaflek cannot handle the new problems that arise in the process of social media marketing for new clients (Diamantidis & Chatzoglou, 2019). The existing customers also fail to acquire satisfactory services as the consultants have inadequate training on the subject matter. Therefore, RPZ Marketing needs to find solutions for the problem urgently.

The Problem’s Significance to RPZ Marketing

The need for having a team of well-trained social media marketing consultants is one that cannot be ignored by RPZ Marketing. This need is because the company risks a significant loss of revenue as well as a damaged brand or reputation if the problem does not get prompt attention and solution. The RPZ sales teams cannot fish in new clients as a result of inadequately trained consultants in social media marketing while the existing clients may opt to terminate their contracts to seek better services from other competing companies. Another issue is that there could be a reduction in employee morale or some of the employees may quit their jobs in the company. This demotivation may be as a result of the resentment that may occur between the social media marketing staff from Genaflek and those from RPZ. The few trained RPZ social media marketing personnel also face the risk of burning out due to the overwhelming task of handling many clients.

Benefits of Solving the Problem to RPZ Marketing

RPZ marketing stands the chance of reaping many benefits after handling the social media marketing consultant inadequacy. To begin with, smooth and efficient operations in the company will be assured once the social media marketing staff receive proper training. Secondly, the involvement of personnel both from the RPZ and Genaflek sides in team building activities will create a unified team thus strengthening the spirit of the merger. In return, the team spirit will bring about an increase in employee morale. Customer satisfaction will then increase since the clients will receive high-quality services from well-trained social media consultants motivated in their job (Dhar, 2015; Diamantidis & Chatzoglou, 2019; Hafeez & Akbar, 2015). The growth of the RPZ marketing will be assured as there may be increased recommendations and new clients which will result in the collection of more revenues. The shareholders in the company will also receive additional benefits such as an increase in the allocation of dividends. Moreover, RPZ marketing will cement its brand or reputation as the leader in the marketing field by being the go-to company for any client seeking marketing services.

Alternative Solutions for the Problem in RPZ Marketing

There are three suggested alternatives for solving the problem in RPZ Marketing. The solutions include; off-site training of personnel by hiring outside organizations, the creation of an in house program for training as well as the recruitment of additional well trained social media marketing consultants to compliment on or utilize the Genaflek traditional marketing.

Evaluation of the Solutions

Off-Site Training for the Employees

Workshops, community colleagues as well as seminars are among the many outside choices that the company has to send their employees for training on social media marketing.

Strengths of the Alternative

One of the strengths of the off-site training alternative is that the classroom setting where the employees can effectively acquire training. The employees will focus their attention on one element at a time in this case which makes it easier for them to digest all the knowledge. The traditional teacher-student style of training will give the employees the freedom to ask questions and actively participate in the learning process as they will be familiar with the setting. This alternative could also reduce any reluctance to training by the Genaflek staff (Jaworski, Ravichandran, Karpinski, & Singh, 2018). The structured format of this kind of training will make the process much easier for the employees.

Weaknesses of the Alternative

The first weakness of this alternative will be its cost ineffectiveness. This weakness is because the company will be forced to part with large amounts of cash to fund the offsite training of employees. This off-site alternative will also limit the employer’s ability to gauge the training process in real time. Another disadvantage of the option is that employees from both sides of the merger will not get an opportunity to bond in this type of training. Off-site training will also yield very slow results which may be disadvantageous to RPZ marketing. The lack of company involvement in the training process may also result in the fusing of the company culture to the employees while training on social media marketing.

Creation of an In-House Training Program

In this alternative solution, the buddy system can be employed. Outside consultants and the RPZ employees can combine efforts and help the Genaflek staff in being up to speed in social media marketing.

Strengths of the Alternative

This alternative will have several advantages. For instance, the option is very cost effective since the personnel can be quickly brought up to speed. In-house training will be flexible as changes can be easily made on the spot while the staff has the ability to adapt to changes quickly. The managers will also have the ability to evaluate and oversee the training process on a continuously in this case. Another strength is that in house training will give the personnel from both sides an opportunity to bond and build the team spirit (Hanaysha, 2016).

Weaknesses of the Alternative

Despite the promising strengths, in house training program solution does have some potential vulnerabilities. To begin with, conflicts among the employees will most likely arise in the buddy system of training. Secondly, resentment towards having the training done by the RPZ personnel may stir among the Genaflek staff. Thirdly, the additional task of training may be overwhelming on the RPZ staff. Besides, this alternative may result in the making of tough decisions on either retaining or laying off the underperforming staff. Moreover, the company could experience a drain on the budget should any employees fail to catch up fast enough.

The hiring of more staff who are well trained on social media marketing to complement the Genaflek staff traditional marketing

Strengths

The first strength of this alternative is that it will allow the company to bring on not only younger but also cheaper staff. It will also allow for the prompt handling of clients seeking social media marketing. The solution will give the Genaflek staff the chance to continue handling traditional marketing which is their forte. There will also be no additional allocation of additional resources for training should this alternative be employed. This solution will relieve the RPZ staff of the additional task of training which may be quite overwhelming.

Weaknesses of the Alternative

Cost ineffectiveness is one major weakness of the alternative as hiring will result in a further strain on the budget. Besides, higher salaries may be demanded by the highly trained social media marketing consultants. A sense of tension may also occur as the recruits may feel the need to pick sides. Another weakness is that there may be feelings of alienation as the staff from Genaflek will most likely perceive it as their replacement.

Conclusions

Description of the recommended solution

In the case of this merger, I would highly recommend the employment of a hybrid model that consists of the best elements derived from the three alternatives. The model will be important as the success of a merger depends on creating a culture where the staff from both sides feel like they are part of one team. For starters, the management could come up with an internship program that will allow the utilization of the new staff trained in social media and marketing. This would be a win-win approach as the Genaflek staff can help prepare the interns on the traditional aspects of marketing while the interns can use their knowledge to reinforce the skills that the Genaflek staff possess.

Additionally, the in house training program could be created in such a way that one RPZ employee gets paired with another Genaflek employee. This pairing will enable them to work together and build up the team spirit as they bond while the Genaflek employee will acquire job training. This method can then be reinforced by the hiring of temporary outside consultants to ensure that that the RPZ staff continue to perform well without burning out. Moreover, the RPZ management could employ the use of new training techniques that the staff can efficiently utilize it from their tablets or smartphones. The staff can also use the gaming technology that studies have proved to accelerate learning.

Conclusively, the field of social media is one that evolves continuously. The RPZ marketing, therefore, needs to avoid facing a similar problem by ensuring that the social media marketing staff get up to speed consistently through the maintenance of the in house program as well as the hybrid model.

References

Dhar, R. L. (2015). Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Tourism Management, 46(1), 419-430.

Diamantidis, A. D., & Chatzoglou, P. (2019). Factors affecting employee performance: an empirical approach. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(1), 171-193.

Hafeez, U., & Akbar, W. (2015). Impact of training on employees’ performance (evidence from pharmaceutical companies in Karachi, Pakistan). Business Management and Strategy, 6(1), 49-64.

Hanaysha, J. (2016). Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229(1), 298-306.

Jaworski, C., Ravichandran, S., Karpinski, A., & Singh, S. (2018). The effects of training satisfaction, employee benefits, and incentives on part-time employees’ commitment. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 74(1), 1-12.