Tanglewood Stores Case Study

Current Environment Assessment Due to fast growth rate and purchasing of smaller companies, legacy procedures are still found in HR practices among stores. Current polices and procedures managing the human asset must resonant with original mission statement. Competitors The competitor list would be any company that does business in non-durable general retail industry. Specifically, listed in the case study has Kohl’s and Target as competitors but I think that Dillard’s and Saks should also be listed since they align with operating revenue, number of stores and employees.

All of these businesses compete for middle to upper income customers. Structure The organization has a tiered hierarchy with multiple levels of management reporting upward while maintaining a participatory management style even down to the departmental managers having the ability to create methods for running the department. Employees There are approximately 215 employees per store. The employees are seen as an essential asset developing and maintaining the values and culture of the organization.

Each employee is part of a team and encouraged to suggest operational improvements for the business. Financial rewards are provided to employees with improvements that are chosen for implementation. Leadership shows that every employee is seen as a member of the core work force by offering permanent positions over temporary. Culture and Values The philosophy of the founders is taught at orientation; “If you tell someone exactly what to do, you’re getting half an employee. If you give omeone the space to make their own decisions, you’re getting a whole person. ”

Through clear and honest communication (business health or otherwise) plus keeping performance and customer service in forefront, leadership has provided an avenue for employees to be engaged at every level. The process of hiring only dedicated employees on a permanent basis fosters the culture and value of the company. Human Resource Function 2 level HR process; corporate and store: Corporate level ? analyses data received from individual stores, ? designs policies and programs, sends specific recommendations to the stores (not sure to whom this information flows – it should be the Assistant Manager of Operations and Human Resources) Store level: ? Assistant Manager for Operations and Human Resource staffs the store, trains new hires Recommendations Operations Staff should be consistently managed throughout all stores with a core value with specific policies and procedures with a balance of allowing the continued personalized involvement from the manager.

Staff Levels Have a balance between developing current workforce while acquiring key personnel with needed skill set and experience to the higher level core positions. ? Outsource the recruiting and hiring of new employees; use their expertise and compliance tracking capabilities. ? Continue with internal hiring as you develop and train the next generation of employees and business success; an employee familiar with company policies is an asset to the company. If current business situations need “new eyes” look to hiring externally. More companies are catering to the flexible workforce. Provide an environment that has some flexibility as this adds to your benefits of keeping a quality and qualified workforce. ? Create a strategy of cross training using the team environment that is already in place; this will help with minimizing the impact of turnover plus provide a hiring pool as management can have performance evaluations on hand. ? Currently with the size of the business and managing multiple controls;

I suggest looking into the benefits of outsourcing the IT department and data analysis locally. Attracting or relocating key personnel through the outsourcing of the potential hiring firm can validate the extent of this need. ? The current position of the business would be to overstaff until it has met the needed results. Once that has been achieved, the business has the ability to develop the extra employees for new roles or let them go. ? I suggest keeping the long-term goals in the forefront while continually measuring the short term goals. The short term goals are easier to reach but it takes focus to keep the business on the long term path. Staffing Quality Multiple levels of job requirements should be identified as minimal tasks to perform; this will aid in the person/job and person/organization match.

While some positions may be less task oriented needs, more emphasis would be on necessary personality qualities that adhere to the organization culture and values. ? For your corporate structure I suggest you have specific KSAOs listed as these positions require specific knowledge, skills and abilities. The store manager, assistant store managers and departmental managers should have general KSAOs as their workforce and responsibilities are more apt to have changes on a regular basis. The base of your leadership and management workforce should be exceptional quality the store shift leaders and associates would be listed under the acceptable workforce quality. But with that being said, if you are looking to encourage your staff and have them suggest improvements, there will be some looking to make a career at your organization. You must not lose site that the associates are the first exposure to your customers – if they are not respected or treated well, that will show in their service.

I did find a risk with the implementation of improvement suggestions as it is left up to the manager on how it is carried out. The improvement should have metrics assigned and a timeline established for follow up and results provided. ? Actively pursue diversity within your organization; the benefits to this organization will be a well rounded workforce ready to enter into more markets, a deeper understanding of customer needs and the ability to provide opportunities for all people.