Case Scenario Context Your group is from the People and Performance Advisory Division of a well-regarded consultancy firm and has been engaged by your client, Australian National Grains (ANG) to provide advice on key objectives they wish to achieve. Your Client ANG was established in 1932 as a farmer's co-operative in western New South Wales and has grown to become a leading Agribusiness in Australia. It became a publicly listed company in 1985 and is now headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company has a long and proud history of supplying Australian and international producers with a variety of grains for food production including wheat, oats, barley, sorghum, and soy. Their products also include oil seed such as canola and the production of oil and biproducts for use in food, health, and industrial applications. ANG uses lesser quality grain products in supplying stock feeds and supplements to Australian farmers. ANG now employs 2,100 permanent staff and a fluctuating casual and contract workforce. Their locations include offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, oil production facilities in Sydney and to facilitate the distribution and export of products, ANG has a network of ports around Australia as well as road and rail assets. ANG's workforce includes people working in a variety of professions including transport and logistics, agronomy, animal nutritionist, sales, marketing, information technology, manufacturing, production, engineering and more. Appendix 1 shows the high-level organisation chart. Phillip Lockyer is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ANG and was appointed to the role 2 years ago, having been with ANG since 2010. In a recent presentation to the ANG Board the CEO outlined his 10-year strategic plan. This plan included ambitious growth and performance targets as well as the diversification into Biofuel production. This will require a significant investment reliant on savings in other parts of the business. As CEO, Phillip Lockyer firmly believes that focussing on people is the key to success. He is not suggesting staff cuts to save money but instead wants managers throughout the business to focus on performance, productivity, and engagement. He also believes the success of the biofuel business hinges on having the right people in the right roles. Accordingly, he has set 3 people related objectives to be achieved in the next 12 months. These are detailed below. Whilst the 3 objectives will present some obvious difficulties, ANG has several people related issues. Your group recently met with ANG's Chief People and Culture Officer, Daniela Santiago who outlined some of the challenges the company is experiencing. In recent years it has become obvious that the current performance management system is not effective. Many long serving managers do not value performance management and see the completion of review forms as irrelevant. Managers are inconsistent in giving people feedback and avoid having difficult conversations about poor performance. Employees who have left the organisation have often cited their manager's disinterest in their performance and career development as a reason for leaving. In recent staff surveys and exit interviews, comments have been made about ANG's inability to deliver on their stated employee value proposition. More specifically people believe salaries are not competitive and are not happy with their work-life imbalance. This has had an impact on ANG's Employer Brand in the marketplace. MGT600-MGMT6009_Assessment_2_Case Scenario Page 1 of 2 ANG has appointed Hari Singh as the Chief Operations Officer, Biofuels. Although agreeing that he has excellent technical and production skills, Daniela Santiago did not agree with the choice as she believes he lacks the required people skills to build the leadership team. Client Objectives The CEO and Leadership Team have identified three specific objectives to be achieved in the next 12 months covering the following: 1. Managing Performance A new approach to managing performance is required as the current system is not effective. ANG will be introducing new software to record performance goals and actions. However, managers must take a more active role in the day-to-day management of performance. Your research and recommendations must address: a. How performance will be managed including a framework for performance management and the role of managers. b. How the change will be implemented. This will include justifying your choice of a robust change management model and an indication of high-level actions to be taken. 2. Recruit the Biofuels Management Team Assembling the best management team possible for the new Biofuels division will be critical to its success. The roles to be recruited are shown in the organisation chart in Appendix 1. Your research and recommendations must address: a. The process and methods used to attract, recruit, and select the right people. b. Who will be involved in the process. c. You do not need to write position descriptions or job advertisement, though you may wish to discuss how these are used. 3. Develop a High Performing Management Team Once the Biofuels management team has been recruited, the CEO wants attention given to ensuring they become a high performing team. Your research and recommendations must address: a. The characteristics of high performing teams b. What strategies and actions can be taken with the Biofuels management team to develop team performance and cohesion.