Case Incident: How to Downsize Successfully While Using HRP Fundamentals

A successful franchise owner of a prestigious sporting goods chain is feeling the effects of technology, with more and more online sales and less and less customers in the shops. Locally there are three stores, and typically each store needs the following positions staffed for optimum profitability and success:

• a store manager
• an assistant manager
• five department managers
• and 20 customer service representatives,

Averaging $1 200 000 in annual revenue. However, there has been a trend of 20 percent sales decline in stores, with an increase of 30 percent sales online (last year the online revenue stream was $300 000).The franchise owner was able to handle all of the online sales with a team of five full-time remote workers (working from home) last year.

The owner wants each store to maintain its productivity, which he measures as the revenue per employee. He also thinks that there is potential to grow the online business.

Please help the owner by answering the following questions.

Instructions

Research

Conduct research in order to get information to address the following questions. Ensure you use some of the qualitative and quantitative techniques described in the course textbook to help formulate your answers.

a. Using your HR planning expertise, forecast the demand of labour in the stores and the online environment over the next three years.

b. Assuming an annual 15 percent turnover level of in-store workers and a 30 percent turnover level of online-focused employees, determine overall HR supply estimates over the next three years.

c. Report the number of employees that will be surplus or shortages for each part of the business and for each year.

d. Report the numbers of any employees that will need to be terminated each year and the services that should be provided for them.

e. Additionally, provide some suggestions of activities you could engage in to determine supply details by internal vs. external candidates.

Do you forecast a labour shortage or surplus? Develop a clear plan to help address the forecast labour shortage or surplus.

Part 1- Business Report

You are to gather the information and write a business report which documents the results of your research above and presents it in a logical manner for senior management of the franchise.

c. You must also provide properly cited reference page at the end of the report to support any of your conclusions.

d. You must also provide appropriate academic references (minimum 2) to support your conclusions or recommendations to the owner. They should be vetted journal articles and company prospectus information rather than Internet sources.

e. Remember, your objective is to provide an analysis on the labour forecast and turnover for the franchise owner, not simply to answer a series of questions. The questions are to help you focus your research. Your overall grade will reflect the strength of your analysis.

NOTE: your plan will need to include three strategies that focus on at least two of the following areas of HR: Training, Career Development, Total Rewards, and Turnover Management.

Part 2- Presentation

You are to complete a 10-minute presentation that documents the results of your research above and presents it in a logical manner for the franchise owner. Your presentation will provide the owner with a high-level summary of the management report, rationale for action, and the recommended HR plan.