Leaders develop position profiles to help them determine the specific job requirements needed to achieve goals and objectives. As evident from the position profiles you have seen, each profile begins by identifying the primary purpose or responsibility of the position and continues by listing necessary traits and characteristics individuals must bring to the job. The profile also includes the competencies the individual must be able to demonstrate to do the job well and the work that needs to be produced. A position profile helps the leader define the knowledge, skills, and personal traits and characteristics needed by individuals in that position, in order to fulfill the primary responsibilities at a superior level.

If a leader does a thorough job of developing a plan that has the store's critical short- and long-term objectives stated, and the leader has the necessary position profiles for the store, then the leader's next step is to assess the existing employees to make sure they have the capacity to achieve the store's objectives. It is critically important to the success of a leader to learn how to determine and evaluate the competency gaps for all store positions and team members (employees). The leader answers and completes the following to evaluate the members of the team:

• What areas of competence or strengths must the members of the store team be able to demonstrate in order to achieve objectives?
• If after assessing the members of the team, the leader determines that all members of the team are capable, the next task is to continue setting expectations and gaining commitment from all team members
• If there are apparent gaps in required competencies, the leader must:
  1. Identify the gaps
  2. Determine which gaps can be filled by training or development
  3. Determine if the staffing plan needs to be changed (i.e. move members of the store team into different positions, let team members go, or acquire new talent)

Instructions

To complete this discussion assignment, refer to course content, outside research on workforce analysis, and the following resources:

• The Dennigee's Case Study leader plan template you developed in Week 3.
• Dennigee's store case study: Case Study - Leading a High Performance Team
• Position Profile for a Team Leader (Assistant Store Manager) Position
• Position Profile for a Team Leader (Store Manager) Position

Refer to the case study and once again assume the role of the Team Leader - Store Manager for the Dennigee's store to complete the following:

1. Identify the gaps. What are the current conditions? Think about people, environment, goals.
2. Determine the best action plan to overcome the gaps in competencies.
3. Select one management position to overcome these performance gaps.
4. Complete the Dennigee's Store Team Development Plan template
   • Overall, the store had not fully recovered. Last weekend, residents enjoyed sunny, warm weather, which translated to an especially busy Saturday and exceeded revenue targets. As you walked the store you made note of the following: 2. Cleanliness standards were not met. Discarded product packaging and scrap cardboard were observed in some selling areas. Restrooms needed mopping and the mirrors were streaked. Paper products in the restrooms were not adequately stocked. 3. The walk-in greenhouse was up to standard. 4. The watering equipment department was up to standard. 5. Some of the inventory levels were short, especially for the current planting equipment that was being promoted. Liquid fertilizers were also in short supply. 6. You received two e-mails on Sunday from customers complaining about long wait times over the weekend. Plus, selling items at the checkout (gardening gloves and knee pads) were not fully stocked and signed. So, you made a note to check the weekend schedule to see if the store had been adequately covered. After the store walk, you had a meeting with the entire management team, which included the assistant store managers and department supervisors. You reviewed the summary of the morning store walk with the team. You believe that the management team is not focusing on the right things. However, you recognize that this gives you the opportunity to establish solid expectations, adjust to individual needs, and demonstrate a supportive position. James, the previous store manager, did a reasonably good job, but you are convinced you can do better. You especially want to help your team see the big picture and focus on executing the Big 5. 1. Promotional signage was up-to-date and appropriately displayed. Page 4 To accomplish this goal, you decide to talk with the assistant managers to reset goals and expectations and regain their commitment to the Big 5. But, youll have to prepare for these conversations. You have two assistant managersEddie and Amy. Eddie is the veteran of the store. He is responsible for operations and receiving. He was a department manager when the store opened over four years ago and has been the lead assistant store manager for the last two years. He has been a consistent and responsible performer with one notable exception. In the past, Eddie has had bitter and disruptive clashes of wills with several department managers. However, these conflicts end when the department managers leave the store. His customer service skills are exceptional, especially greeting the customers and maintaining operational and inventory standards. However, Eddie did not take your promotion very well. Eddie felt that he was leaped over. As managers you and Eddie get along fine and are cordial to one another. Though Eddie has not been very direct with you about his displeasure, it has shown in his interactions with you. And, youve even heard from other managers that Eddie is upset. However, as the store manager, you have been professional and respectful towards Eddie and involve him in many managerial responsibilities and decisions. Maybe Eddies behavior and feelings should be included in the agenda for the upcoming expectations-setting meeting. You think it would be a good idea to review the job profile for the assistant store manager's position, which is the same as it is for the store manager. This may in fact be the critical piece of the discussion. At times over the past few months, you and Eddie seem to have had overlapping roles. It will be important to clarify and distinguish these roles and align them with the store's goals and objectives. You decide to review Eddies performance agreement for the current year and were reminded of his: Strengths and achievements: Improved MTD customer service scores, reduced MTD shrink % vs. target, improved exempt turnover rate You also note opportunities: Rollout of new processes needs improvement; Part-time staff needs to be better managed; Needs to spend more time providing employees with ongoing feedback; and Inventory tracking needs focus and improvement. Amy is the other assistant store manager who oversees the remaining store functions. Amy was initially promoted from a department supervisor position to assistant store manager by your predecessor, just before you took over as store manager. She still acts like the new kid on the block and most of the time she reverts back to serving customers when she is supposed to be supervising. Amy was promoted because her departments led in sales for several focus periods, averaging 5-7% above targeted revenues. But, you think that she spends more time with customers than she supervises. The previous store manager was overall very pleased with Amys performance for several reasons. She was a quick learner and rapidly assimilated lots of product knowledge. In general, employees seem to like Amy and appreciate her quick humor and friendliness. Now that she is an assistant store manager, you feel that Amy is too aggressive with the department supervisors she oversees. She needs to learn the important distinction between being aggressive and energetic. At times, the pace of her speech hurts her ability to connect with employees and customers.
   • Be sure to include a summary entry for every element.
5. Post your completed development plan for your peers to review.
6. Review at least two of your peers' plans and discuss your thought on their gap analysis and recommendations for action. What would you do similarly/differently, and why? Share your experiences, observations, and resources, if you have them.