The Wilson Brothers Limited Case You have recently been hired as the HR manager responsible for two separate Ontario locations belonging to Wilson Brothers Limited. You have been asked by the HR Director at the head office in Brandon, Manitoba, to quickly provide a report on any initial HR issues related to Recruitment and Selection, Compensation and Benefits, Health and Safety, Training and Development and Labour and Employee Relations that are affecting or will affect the Cambridge operation and the new plant in Scarborough. The HR Director has made it very clear that Wilson Brothers would like both the Cambridge location and the new plant in Scarborough to remain union-free and are willing to offer very competitive wages and benefits in order to ensure this. This report must be submitted within 7 days. You were provided with some background information about the company during your selection interview. Background Information: In 1960 the Wilson brothers, Bob and John, started Wilson Brothers Limited. This Canadian company manufactures and distributes various lines of prepared foods (including baked goods and various types of bottled juices) for the Canadian market from a number of plants, with the head office located in Brandon, Manitoba. By 2000, Wilson Brothers Limited had six operating plants in Canada. They had also expanded to the Western US market and had a number of plants in Europe. In Ontario there is a medium sized plant located in Cambridge. Until recently both bottled items and bakery items were produced at this location. In the last 30 days the company has finalized a deal with some large grocery chains to supply baked goods that are part of their current line and also new baked items that grocery companies have requested. These grocery chains have decided that they no longer want to bake items on their own sites. The plant in Cambridge does not have the capacity to produce the goods to meet the requirements of the contracts. As a consequence, the company searched for additional facilities and found a manufacturing plant for sale in Scarborough that was previously owned by a company that also manufactured various baked goods. The plant has the ovens, the vats, the prep areas, and the packaging conveyor belts that will be needed to produce the goods to fulfill the new contracts. This plant will have five times the baking production capacity as the current Cambridge plant. A small fleet of trucks, most with refrigeration units, was also included in the package deal so the new plant will not be contracting with a trucking company to get their goods to customers. Recent increases in orders for bottled juices will result in increasing the output of the bottling operation at the Cambridge plant and it will take over the space previously used by the bakery operation. Discussion with Retiring HR Manager On your first day on the job at the Cambridge location, you have a discussion with the retiring HR Manager who will be leaving in two weeks. He appears to be somewhat out of the loop - possibly by choice - and is not able to provide much information. He seems to be more intent on telling you about his fishing boat that is currently moored in Key Largo in Florida. However, you obtain a couple of details from him. 1. His wife is the company accountant and she is also retiring on the same day as him and while an offer was made to the daughter of a neighbour, that individual has declined the offer in favour of an offer to work with a company in California. 2. His pride and joy is his daughter who has worked for the company as a project leader for two years. She is leaving shortly to pursue a Bachelor's degree and he said that the company has agree to pay her university tuition each year if she returns to work during her summers off. 3. He admits that he has been uninvolved in the decision to expand to Scarborough, since his focus has simply been finishing up and retiring. However, he does know that one of the three bakers at the Cambridge plant has chosen to relocate and work in the new plant due to a recent divorce and two of the five packagers are also relocating. One of the packagers is confined to a wheelchair and would like to be closer to parents with health problems who live in the east end of Toronto and the other is relocating with her husband who has been given a job offer to work as a driver for the Scarborough plant. In addition, two of the five client service reps will also be relocating to work at the Scarborough plant. 4. You ask about current wages and payroll in Cambridge and after referring to files, he is able to tell you that the Cambridge bakers and packagers are hourly employees and are paid $25.50 per hour and $19.25 per hour respectively. 5. The client service reps who take orders, deal with client complaints and track down lost or late shipments are on salary and paid anywhere from $49,900 to $57,500 depending on experience. When he tells you that the reps also generate additional business for Wilsons, you ask about compensation for this duty, but you are told that the salaries are fixed, regardless of how much business the reps generate. 6. He tells you that the rates for packagers, bakers and client service reps are quite attractive for the Cambridge labour market but can't comment on the Scarborough/Toronto labour market. 7. Trying to get a handle on exactly what each position does, you ask about job descriptions for the various positions. The HR Manager tells you except for one client service rep and his daughter, all staff have been here as long or longer than him and that he has not ever updated job descriptions, nor can he tell you if they actually exist. Cathy, the HR Assistant might be able to help. 8. When you talk to Cathy later that day about the job descriptions, she advises that there are none. Since the HR Manager's daughter has only been with the company for two years, you ask to see her HR file so that you can see the process used to hire her. Cathy just laughs and tells you that you have to be kidding - that the HR Manager's kid just showed up one day and was introduced to the staff as the Project Leader. There was no process - no interview, no job specifications and no job description. She also tells you that she doesn't really know what the HR Managers's daughter does at the company. It would appear that her father assigns her some kind of work. 9. In fact, Cathy tells you that recruitment and selection really isn't an issue. Most of the employees at the Cambridge plant are either very long term employees or were referred by existing employees and that in the ten years she has been with Wilson's, they have never advertised a vacancy. They don't need to advertise. Wilson's is great company to work for and employees refer family and friends if needed. "Outsiders, as she puts it, are never considered. She also notes that there is no organization chart for the Cambridge location; staff know who they report to and who is in charge 10. In terms of staffing for the Scarborough plant, Cathy does have some information. Apparently the Cambridge plant manager somehow managed to connect with the trucking supervisor who worked for the company that used to own the Scarborough plant. The plant manager was very impressed by this man and offered him a job immediately, without consulting HR. In addition, both the Cambridge office manager and plant manager were offered positions at the new operation, but both declined the offer. Nevertheless, they are currently onsite at the new plant helping to set up both the front office and the plant. 11. When you meet again with the HR Manager, he tells you that the head office in Brandon has set a deadline of 30 days for the plant setup and 60 days for plant to start producing product. While he feels that these time frames are unrealistic, he also seems distracted and tells you that he really doesn't care; he and his wife are off for Florida in twenty days. You really need to meet with key players such as the plant manager and trucking supervisor to get more details. Discussion with the Plant Manager You called the Cambridge Plant Manager on his cell and made an appointment to meet him at the Scarborough Plant. When you arrive at the plant, he tells you that he would like to give you a tour of the plant before you sit down with him to obtain information. He advises you that the equipment is almost set up and ready to go and that he will definitely meet the 30 day deadline as far as plant set-up is concerned. You find out the following pieces of information during the plant tour and during the subsequent interview. 1. As you are touring the plant you pass by a steel barrel that has been tipped over and some kind of gooey liquid is seeping out onto the concrete floor. You step slightly into the material before you see it and almost lose your balance - it makes the floor very slippery. You ask about this and the plant manager tells you that the barrels were left behind by the other company, that he doesn't know what is in it and that they will clean it up when they have time. You also note that there is a pile of pieces of metal, possibly from some equipmentthat are scattered about in the corner of the plant in front of an emergency exit. You are told that these were also left behind by the previous company but no mention is made about cleaning them up. You noted that it would be impossible to get to the emergency exit without having to step over all of this metal debris and you also have to step over a minor amount of the metal on the way to the plant washrooms. 2. The Cambridge Plant Manager tells you that the new plant has eight ovens and that they will need to use all eight during the day shift and that in about six to eight months time, there might be a need for a second shift. He makes a point of telling you that these ovens are substantially different than the ovens at the Cambridge plant and there are some controls that they are not familiar with. He advises you that the manufacturer of the ovens may need to be contacted as no manuals were left behind and in order to train the bakers, information about the controls will need to be obtained. He also tells you that these ovens will throw more heat into the plant and it would be a good idea to show prospective plant staff what the working conditions are like- very hot - as part of the selection process. He indicated that a modification will be made to the ventilation system shortly but it will still be very hot in the plant any time the ovens are in use. 3. He tells you that one of the two packagers that is relocating is confined to a wheel chair. He tells you that this packager is the fastest packager on the Cambridge line but given the height of the conveyer belt at the new plant, the packagers have to stand on platform next to the belt to be able to do the work and there is no way that the packager confined to a wheel chair can get access to the platform in her chair. He really doesn't know if the worker will be able to do the job. 4. The Cambridge Plant Manager advises you of the following staffing requirements for the new Scarborough plant: a. A plant manager - the Cambridge Manager declined the offer to relocate even though he was offered $10,000 more per year. He likes his job, has a mortgage-free house and enjoys the Cambridge community. b. A plant supervisor c. Five bakers - one of which is relocating so a net requirement for four bakers d. Eight packagers - two of which are relocating so a net requirement of 6 e. Ten food prep workers f. Six client service reps - two of which are relocating to Scarborough so a net requirement for four client service reps g. Two forklift operators h. Five drivers - three who are licensed to drive tractor trailers (minus the husband of one of the packagers who has already been given an offer) and two who are licensed to drive cube vans. 5. He notes that one of the client service reps that is relocating has a lot of potential. He has talked with this man several times and it almost sounds like the plant manager has become a bit of a mentor to this individual. He tells you that the client service rep (Hassan) is very bright, good with people, is currently enrolled in a business degree program online with Athabasca university and could make a good plant manager, if you are not able to find an experienced plant manager with bakery experience. He makes the point that you will likely have difficulty finding a fully experienced person that is right for this kind of operation. 6. In Cambridge, three of the packagers can be trained to work on the bottling line without any problem so there is no net increase there. The Cambridge plant will also need an additional forklift operator. 7. He also tells you that the Brandon head office is considering installing a Director of Operations at the new plant who would be responsible for the entire operation and you will need to follow up on this with the Brandon office. This would be in addition to the plant manager and office manager 8. Once your interview with the plant manager has concluded, he tells you that you need to sit down briefly with the trucking supervisor to obtain some information. He tells you that he was really impressed with this man and hired him right away - he made the comment that if he waited for the Cambridge office to act, this man would have gotten a job elsewhere quite quickly. He also tells you that the trucking supervisor will be very useful in bringing in new staff. He organized all of the social events at the Scarborough location when it was owned by the original owners, and knows all of the staff that were laid off Information Obtained from the New Trucking Supervisor Gus, the new trucking supervisor advises you of the following: 1. The trucks that Wilson Brothers inherited from the company that used to own the plant cannot have the ownership transferred until the trucks are checked and certified. It is his belief that every one of the trucks needs some mechanical work done on them. The previous company did not like to spend money on repairs and consequently there were frequent breakdowns. He can provide the names of some local garages that are fair and reliable. He also knows of two mechanics that are semi-retired. 2. He tells you that none of the refrigeration units on the tractor trailer trucks are functional and thinks that one or more of the drivers might have tampered with them. He tells you that his previous employer did not pay severance as required by law to any of the employees and that the truckers in particular were very angry. He is pretty sure he knows who tampered with the units. 3. He tells you that the employees at the previous company were a fairly close knit group and the fact that he has been hired by Wilson Brothers has spread like wildfire. Almost every person has either phoned him or emailed him to find out if Wilson is hiring. He provides the following list of workers seeking work: a. 5 bakers b. 7 packagers c. 7 prep workers d. 1 forklift operator e. 1 plant manager 1 plant supervisor g. 1 office manager h. 2 accounting clerks f. a. 1 receptionist j. 4 client service order desk people k. 1 bookkeeper (he readily confesses that the bookkeeper is his wife) You ask Gus if he would hire all of the people back if he was in charge of hiring. He hesitates for a minute or two and makes the following statement: "I don't like to speak ill of anyone but the former plant manager and plant supervisor were not nice people. They didn't care about the welfare or the safety of the staff and they created a very unpleasant environment in the plant. He said these two men never recommended raises for workers. He also notes that one of the drivers, Jamie Carr, was not a particularly good employee - above average absenteeism, had an attitude problem, not a team player and supposedly beat up another employee after hours in a bar, though this was never confirmed. He said that this employee and a union organizer who regularly used to come onsite were constantly talking to employees about forming a union. While the wages for the truckers were below the going rate, the workers were too afraid of losing their jobs to work with union organizers. He said that if the decision was his, he would not hire Jamie back. He also said that as soon as the union organizer from WOTA (World Organization for Trucking Associates) finds out that the plant has started up and truckers are working here, he will just come back on the property and try to get the guys interested in joining a union. Interview with the Office Manager Your last interview is with the Cambridge office manager who is onsite at the Scarborough plant working with a crew to set up the office. She provides the following information 1. She thinks that you will need the following people to start: a. An office manager (she is not relocating to Scarborough) b. 2 accounting clerks c. 4 client service people d. A bookkeeper - depending on the size of the operation, an accountant might be needed later instead of a bookkeeper. e. 1 receptionist 2. As part of the deal, Wilson Brothers inherited office furniture left behind by the previous company. The furniture is as old as the hills as she put it, some of it is broken, all of the chairs are filthy and none of it is ergonomically correct. Even though a budget has not been set aside, she is recommending that all of the furniture be replaced. 3. She said that the employees who used to work at the Scarborough location must have been very unhappy because it looks as someone has deliberately plugged up the drains in the washroom sinks and toilets. In one area, the toilet backed up and sewage had dumped on the floor and some has seeped into the drywall. Even though the mess was cleaned up and the drywall repainted, there continues to be an objectionable smell in the office. 4. She also tells you about a problem that has transferred to the new location from the Cambridge location. One of the male client service reps who decided to relocate had previously been making lewd comments to a female packager, who has also decided to relocate because her husband was offered a driving job at the Scarborough plant. She tells you that this guy can't seem to keep his hands off any women under 45 in the office and that in this particular case, he has commented on the packager's appearance, given her flowers and made off colour remarks. The packager complained to the Office Manager and even spent three months off on stress leave. The HR Manager had promised to deal with the situation, but failed to do so. When the packager agreed to relocate, she thought she was 'home-free' and that her problems were over. However, once she found out that the client service rep was also relocating, her stress level went through the roof. She never told her husband about the problem as she was afraid that her husband would beat the man up, but now that her husband and the client service rep will be working at the same company, she is just beside herself with worry that her husband will be convicted of assault, go to prison and leave her alone with their three kids. You make a quick call to the HR Manager about the issue related to the client service rep and he brushes you off with the comment that "Jack is harmless. He just likes women and likes to joke around with them. He's a great guy and, I might add, a superb golfer." Telephone conversation with the HR Assistant at Cambridge 1. You later make a quick call to Cathy, the HR Assistant, to find out if there is any record of discipline for the client service rep. You again get the "are you kidding" comment and she tells you that the HR Manager and the client service rep were practically joined at the hip - they golfed together two or three time per week and spent hours in the bar afterwards on those nights. She said that the HR Manager would go to any length to protect the client service rep. She checked the file and confirmed that there was no record of discipline. You ask her if there is a performance evaluation in the file. She responds sarcastically "what's that'? She then tells you that performance evaluations are never done. In order to leave the Cambridge location, you either have to quit or die. She also tells you that there is no code of conduct or written policy regarding harassment. 2. Cathy seems to be a fountain of information about what is going on at the Cambridge operation and on the spur of the moment, you decide to ask her if there any other things that you might be interesting in knowing about the Cambridge location. She tells you the following: a. Wages are not consistent across the board. Some of the less experienced staffe.g. bakers and accounting clerks - are paid more than the more experienced staff. It seems to be related to who referred them to the company. b. There are no pay incentives for client service reps to pull in more business for the company. Some staff generate enormous business opportunities for the company while others do very little. c. Some time is being lost at the Cambridge plant due to carpal tunnel syndrome, particularly in the packager position. d. While staff are paid reasonably well for what they do, hardly anyone gets a raise after they start. e. A part time bookkeeper has been handling payroll at the Cambridge location for the past 6 months and she is due to leave in a few days. Cathy understands that an offer for this position was made to the HR Manager's cousin but she declined the offer because she is going to Europe for 3 months and no other arrangements have been made. She noted that staff will be glad to see the bookkeeper leave because she made lots of errors in pay and not all of them have been properly corrected. This person (along with three other people) has access to petty cash and there has been a persistent shortage (about $1,000 in total) in petty cash since the bookkeeper arrived. The HR Manager has done nothing about this and Cathy thinks it is because the bookkeeper is the HR Manager's sister-in-law. f. She is pretty sure that one of the client service reps (Jack) and one of the bakers are alcoholics and that there is no provision in the benefits package to provide assistance to them. g. Cathy is really interested in moving up in HR with the company. She has completed her degree part time and is trying to put together a budget to take her HR courses. She made the comment that she wished that the company provided some support for tuition costs and doesn't understand how the HR Manager's daughter managed to have her entire tuition paid for four years. Her comment was "there is always a deal for the right person". The only other person she knows of that is going to school part time is Hassan who is trying to complete his Bachelor of Commerce program within the same types of financial constraints. h. She said she knows that you will need orientation/onboarding training for the staff at the new location and there is no training package available. She asks if you would like her to start preparing one. a. Some guy from UBW (Union of Bottling Workers) found out about the bottling line expansion at the Cambridge plant and came onsite three weeks ago and talked to some of the bottling workers about joining UBW. j. She heard that he was asking about health and safety at the Cambridge plant but Cathy says that this has never been an issue. When staff get hurt, they go off on sick leave until they're better. The supervisor decides how long they get off, what went wrong and arranges to fix the problem. There used to be a health and safety committee, but the current system seems to be working so the committee has not met in over two years and no one is certified any longer. On impulse you decide to check on more thing before you sit down to collect your thoughts about the issues that have come to light. You have a good friend that works for the Ministry of Labour and you call her up and ask if she can check on the safety record of the company that used to own the Scarborough plant. She asks for the name of the company, you provide it and without going to check records, she says "Oh boy! That company has one of the worst safety records in the industry. Investigators have threatened to shut the plant down at least 4 times in the last 5 years. It would appear that the plant manager and supervisors are at the centre of all of the problems but I can't be sure if the entire culture of the company had a negative impact on safety. Totally bad news!" You are now ready to make a list of HR issues and possible recommendations as a way of preparing to write the report. !!!YOUR TASK!!! 1. Please divide your responses into three sections and use the chart provided at the end. In the first section, you will identify the HR issues under the following HR disciplines: a. Recruitment and Selection b. Compensation and Benefits c. Health and Safety d. Training and Development e. Labour Relations and Employee Discipline f. Other (any HR issue that does not fit in the areas noted above). The Wilson Brothers Limited Case You have recently been hired as the HR manager responsible for two separate Ontario locations belonging to Wilson Brothers Limited. You have been asked by the HR Director at the head office in Brandon, Manitoba, to quickly provide a report on any initial HR issues related to Recruitment and Selection, Compensation and Benefits, Health and Safety, Training and Development and Labour and Employee Relations that are affecting or will affect the Cambridge operation and the new plant in Scarborough. The HR Director has made it very clear that Wilson Brothers would like both the Cambridge location and the new plant in Scarborough to remain union-free and are willing to offer very competitive wages and benefits in order to ensure this. This report must be submitted within 7 days. You were provided with some background information about the company during your selection interview. Background Information: In 1960 the Wilson brothers, Bob and John, started Wilson Brothers Limited. This Canadian company manufactures and distributes various lines of prepared foods (including baked goods and various types of bottled juices) for the Canadian market from a number of plants, with the head office located in Brandon, Manitoba. By 2000, Wilson Brothers Limited had six operating plants in Canada. They had also expanded to the Western US market and had a number of plants in Europe. In Ontario there is a medium sized plant located in Cambridge. Until recently both bottled items and bakery items were produced at this location. In the last 30 days the company has finalized a deal with some large grocery chains to supply baked goods that are part of their current line and also new baked items that grocery companies have requested. These grocery chains have decided that they no longer want to bake items on their own sites. The plant in Cambridge does not have the capacity to produce the goods to meet the requirements of the contracts. As a consequence, the company searched for additional facilities and found a manufacturing plant for sale in Scarborough that was previously owned by a company that also manufactured various baked goods. The plant has the ovens, the vats, the prep areas, and the packaging conveyor belts that will be needed to produce the goods to fulfill the new contracts. This plant will have five times the baking production capacity as the current Cambridge plant. A small fleet of trucks, most with refrigeration units, was also included in the package deal so the new plant will not be contracting with a trucking company to get their goods to customers. Recent increases in orders for bottled juices will result in increasing the output of the bottling operation at the Cambridge plant and it will take over the space previously used by the bakery operation. Discussion with Retiring HR Manager On your first day on the job at the Cambridge location, you have a discussion with the retiring HR Manager who will be leaving in two weeks. He appears to be somewhat out of the loop - possibly by choice - and is not able to provide much information. He seems to be more intent on telling you about his fishing boat that is currently moored in Key Largo in Florida. However, you obtain a couple of details from him. 1. His wife is the company accountant and she is also retiring on the same day as him and while an offer was made to the daughter of a neighbour, that individual has declined the offer in favour of an offer to work with a company in California. 2. His pride and joy is his daughter who has worked for the company as a project leader for two years. She is leaving shortly to pursue a Bachelor's degree and he said that the company has agree to pay her university tuition each year if she returns to work during her summers off. 3. He admits that he has been uninvolved in the decision to expand to Scarborough, since his focus has simply been finishing up and retiring. However, he does know that one of the three bakers at the Cambridge plant has chosen to relocate and work in the new plant due to a recent divorce and two of the five packagers are also relocating. One of the packagers is confined to a wheelchair and would like to be closer to parents with health problems who live in the east end of Toronto and the other is relocating with her husband who has been given a job offer to work as a driver for the Scarborough plant. In addition, two of the five client service reps will also be relocating to work at the Scarborough plant. 4. You ask about current wages and payroll in Cambridge and after referring to files, he is able to tell you that the Cambridge bakers and packagers are hourly employees and are paid $25.50 per hour and $19.25 per hour respectively. 5. The client service reps who take orders, deal with client complaints and track down lost or late shipments are on salary and paid anywhere from $49,900 to $57,500 depending on experience. When he tells you that the reps also generate additional business for Wilsons, you ask about compensation for this duty, but you are told that the salaries are fixed, regardless of how much business the reps generate. 6. He tells you that the rates for packagers, bakers and client service reps are quite attractive for the Cambridge labour market but can't comment on the Scarborough/Toronto labour market. 7. Trying to get a handle on exactly what each position does, you ask about job descriptions for the various positions. The HR Manager tells you except for one client service rep and his daughter, all staff have been here as long or longer than him and that he has not ever updated job descriptions, nor can he tell you if they actually exist. Cathy, the HR Assistant might be able to help. 8. When you talk to Cathy later that day about the job descriptions, she advises that there are none. Since the HR Manager's daughter has only been with the company for two years, you ask to see her HR file so that you can see the process used to hire her. Cathy just laughs and tells you that you have to be kidding - that the HR Manager's kid just showed up one day and was introduced to the staff as the Project Leader. There was no process - no interview, no job specifications and no job description. She also tells you that she doesn't really know what the HR Managers's daughter does at the company. It would appear that her father assigns her some kind of work. 9. In fact, Cathy tells you that recruitment and selection really isn't an issue. Most of the employees at the Cambridge plant are either very long term employees or were referred by existing employees and that in the ten years she has been with Wilson's, they have never advertised a vacancy. They don't need to advertise. Wilson's is great company to work for and employees refer family and friends if needed. "Outsiders, as she puts it, are never considered. She also notes that there is no organization chart for the Cambridge location; staff know who they report to and who is in charge 10. In terms of staffing for the Scarborough plant, Cathy does have some information. Apparently the Cambridge plant manager somehow managed to connect with the trucking supervisor who worked for the company that used to own the Scarborough plant. The plant manager was very impressed by this man and offered him a job immediately, without consulting HR. In addition, both the Cambridge office manager and plant manager were offered positions at the new operation, but both declined the offer. Nevertheless, they are currently onsite at the new plant helping to set up both the front office and the plant. 11. When you meet again with the HR Manager, he tells you that the head office in Brandon has set a deadline of 30 days for the plant setup and 60 days for plant to start producing product. While he feels that these time frames are unrealistic, he also seems distracted and tells you that he really doesn't care; he and his wife are off for Florida in twenty days. You really need to meet with key players such as the plant manager and trucking supervisor to get more details. Discussion with the Plant Manager You called the Cambridge Plant Manager on his cell and made an appointment to meet him at the Scarborough Plant. When you arrive at the plant, he tells you that he would like to give you a tour of the plant before you sit down with him to obtain information. He advises you that the equipment is almost set up and ready to go and that he will definitely meet the 30 day deadline as far as plant set-up is concerned. You find out the following pieces of information during the plant tour and during the subsequent interview. 1. As you are touring the plant you pass by a steel barrel that has been tipped over and some kind of gooey liquid is seeping out onto the concrete floor. You step slightly into the material before you see it and almost lose your balance - it makes the floor very slippery. You ask about this and the plant manager tells you that the barrels were left behind by the other company, that he doesn't know what is in it and that they will clean it up when they have time. You also note that there is a pile of pieces of metal, possibly from some equipmentthat are scattered about in the corner of the plant in front of an emergency exit. You are told that these were also left behind by the previous company but no mention is made about cleaning them up. You noted that it would be impossible to get to the emergency exit without having to step over all of this metal debris and you also have to step over a minor amount of the metal on the way to the plant washrooms. 2. The Cambridge Plant Manager tells you that the new plant has eight ovens and that they will need to use all eight during the day shift and that in about six to eight months time, there might be a need for a second shift. He makes a point of telling you that these ovens are substantially different than the ovens at the Cambridge plant and there are some controls that they are not familiar with. He advises you that the manufacturer of the ovens may need to be contacted as no manuals were left behind and in order to train the bakers, information about the controls will need to be obtained. He also tells you that these ovens will throw more heat into the plant and it would be a good idea to show prospective plant staff what the working conditions are like- very hot - as part of the selection process. He indicated that a modification will be made to the ventilation system shortly but it will still be very hot in the plant any time the ovens are in use. 3. He tells you that one of the two packagers that is relocating is confined to a wheel chair. He tells you that this packager is the fastest packager on the Cambridge line but given the height of the conveyer belt at the new plant, the packagers have to stand on platform next to the belt to be able to do the work and there is no way that the packager confined to a wheel chair can get access to the platform in her chair. He really doesn't know if the worker will be able to do the job. 4. The Cambridge Plant Manager advises you of the following staffing requirements for the new Scarborough plant: a. A plant manager - the Cambridge Manager declined the offer to relocate even though he was offered $10,000 more per year. He likes his job, has a mortgage-free house and enjoys the Cambridge community. b. A plant supervisor c. Five bakers - one of which is relocating so a net requirement for four bakers d. Eight packagers - two of which are relocating so a net requirement of 6 e. Ten food prep workers f. Six client service reps - two of which are relocating to Scarborough so a net requirement for four client service reps g. Two forklift operators h. Five drivers - three who are licensed to drive tractor trailers (minus the husband of one of the packagers who has already been given an offer) and two who are licensed to drive cube vans. 5. He notes that one of the client service reps that is relocating has a lot of potential. He has talked with this man several times and it almost sounds like the plant manager has become a bit of a mentor to this individual. He tells you that the client service rep (Hassan) is very bright, good with people, is currently enrolled in a business degree program online with Athabasca university and could make a good plant manager, if you are not able to find an experienced plant manager with bakery experience. He makes the point that you will likely have difficulty finding a fully experienced person that is right for this kind of operation. 6. In Cambridge, three of the packagers can be trained to work on the bottling line without any problem so there is no net increase there. The Cambridge plant will also need an additional forklift operator. 7. He also tells you that the Brandon head office is considering installing a Director of Operations at the new plant who would be responsible for the entire operation and you will need to follow up on this with the Brandon office. This would be in addition to the plant manager and office manager 8. Once your interview with the plant manager has concluded, he tells you that you need to sit down briefly with the trucking supervisor to obtain some information. He tells you that he was really impressed with this man and hired him right away - he made the comment that if he waited for the Cambridge office to act, this man would have gotten a job elsewhere quite quickly. He also tells you that the trucking supervisor will be very useful in bringing in new staff. He organized all of the social events at the Scarborough location when it was owned by the original owners, and knows all of the staff that were laid off Information Obtained from the New Trucking Supervisor Gus, the new trucking supervisor advises you of the following: 1. The trucks that Wilson Brothers inherited from the company that used to own the plant cannot have the ownership transferred until the trucks are checked and certified. It is his belief that every one of the trucks needs some mechanical work done on them. The previous company did not like to spend money on repairs and consequently there were frequent breakdowns. He can provide the names of some local garages that are fair and reliable. He also knows of two mechanics that are semi-retired. 2. He tells you that none of the refrigeration units on the tractor trailer trucks are functional and thinks that one or more of the drivers might have tampered with them. He tells you that his previous employer did not pay severance as required by law to any of the employees and that the truckers in particular were very angry. He is pretty sure he knows who tampered with the units. 3. He tells you that the employees at the previous company were a fairly close knit group and the fact that he has been hired by Wilson Brothers has spread like wildfire. Almost every person has either phoned him or emailed him to find out if Wilson is hiring. He provides the following list of workers seeking work: a. 5 bakers b. 7 packagers c. 7 prep workers d. 1 forklift operator e. 1 plant manager 1 plant supervisor g. 1 office manager h. 2 accounting clerks f. a. 1 receptionist j. 4 client service order desk people k. 1 bookkeeper (he readily confesses that the bookkeeper is his wife) You ask Gus if he would hire all of the people back if he was in charge of hiring. He hesitates for a minute or two and makes the following statement: "I don't like to speak ill of anyone but the former plant manager and plant supervisor were not nice people. They didn't care about the welfare or the safety of the staff and they created a very unpleasant environment in the plant. He said these two men never recommended raises for workers. He also notes that one of the drivers, Jamie Carr, was not a particularly good employee - above average absenteeism, had an attitude problem, not a team player and supposedly beat up another employee after hours in a bar, though this was never confirmed. He said that this employee and a union organizer who regularly used to come onsite were constantly talking to employees about forming a union. While the wages for the truckers were below the going rate, the workers were too afraid of losing their jobs to work with union organizers. He said that if the decision was his, he would not hire Jamie back. He also said that as soon as the union organizer from WOTA (World Organization for Trucking Associates) finds out that the plant has started up and truckers are working here, he will just come back on the property and try to get the guys interested in joining a union. Interview with the Office Manager Your last interview is with the Cambridge office manager who is onsite at the Scarborough plant working with a crew to set up the office. She provides the following information 1. She thinks that you will need the following people to start: a. An office manager (she is not relocating to Scarborough) b. 2 accounting clerks c. 4 client service people d. A bookkeeper - depending on the size of the operation, an accountant might be needed later instead of a bookkeeper. e. 1 receptionist 2. As part of the deal, Wilson Brothers inherited office furniture left behind by the previous company. The furniture is as old as the hills as she put it, some of it is broken, all of the chairs are filthy and none of it is ergonomically correct. Even though a budget has not been set aside, she is recommending that all of the furniture be replaced. 3. She said that the employees who used to work at the Scarborough location must have been very unhappy because it looks as someone has deliberately plugged up the drains in the washroom sinks and toilets. In one area, the toilet backed up and sewage had dumped on the floor and some has seeped into the drywall. Even though the mess was cleaned up and the drywall repainted, there continues to be an objectionable smell in the office. 4. She also tells you about a problem that has transferred to the new location from the Cambridge location. One of the male client service reps who decided to relocate had previously been making lewd comments to a female packager, who has also decided to relocate because her husband was offered a driving job at the Scarborough plant. She tells you that this guy can't seem to keep his hands off any women under 45 in the office and that in this particular case, he has commented on the packager's appearance, given her flowers and made off colour remarks. The packager complained to the Office Manager and even spent three months off on stress leave. The HR Manager had promised to deal with the situation, but failed to do so. When the packager agreed to relocate, she thought she was 'home-free' and that her problems were over. However, once she found out that the client service rep was also relocating, her stress level went through the roof. She never told her husband about the problem as she was afraid that her husband would beat the man up, but now that her husband and the client service rep will be working at the same company, she is just beside herself with worry that her husband will be convicted of assault, go to prison and leave her alone with their three kids. You make a quick call to the HR Manager about the issue related to the client service rep and he brushes you off with the comment that "Jack is harmless. He just likes women and likes to joke around with them. He's a great guy and, I might add, a superb golfer." Telephone conversation with the HR Assistant at Cambridge 1. You later make a quick call to Cathy, the HR Assistant, to find out if there is any record of discipline for the client service rep. You again get the "are you kidding" comment and she tells you that the HR Manager and the client service rep were practically joined at the hip - they golfed together two or three time per week and spent hours in the bar afterwards on those nights. She said that the HR Manager would go to any length to protect the client service rep. She checked the file and confirmed that there was no record of discipline. You ask her if there is a performance evaluation in the file. She responds sarcastically "what's that'? She then tells you that performance evaluations are never done. In order to leave the Cambridge location, you either have to quit or die. She also tells you that there is no code of conduct or written policy regarding harassment. 2. Cathy seems to be a fountain of information about what is going on at the Cambridge operation and on the spur of the moment, you decide to ask her if there any other things that you might be interesting in knowing about the Cambridge location. She tells you the following: a. Wages are not consistent across the board. Some of the less experienced staffe.g. bakers and accounting clerks - are paid more than the more experienced staff. It seems to be related to who referred them to the company. b. There are no pay incentives for client service reps to pull in more business for the company. Some staff generate enormous business opportunities for the company while others do very little. c. Some time is being lost at the Cambridge plant due to carpal tunnel syndrome, particularly in the packager position. d. While staff are paid reasonably well for what they do, hardly anyone gets a raise after they start. e. A part time bookkeeper has been handling payroll at the Cambridge location for the past 6 months and she is due to leave in a few days. Cathy understands that an offer for this position was made to the HR Manager's cousin but she declined the offer because she is going to Europe for 3 months and no other arrangements have been made. She noted that staff will be glad to see the bookkeeper leave because she made lots of errors in pay and not all of them have been properly corrected. This person (along with three other people) has access to petty cash and there has been a persistent shortage (about $1,000 in total) in petty cash since the bookkeeper arrived. The HR Manager has done nothing about this and Cathy thinks it is because the bookkeeper is the HR Manager's sister-in-law. f. She is pretty sure that one of the client service reps (Jack) and one of the bakers are alcoholics and that there is no provision in the benefits package to provide assistance to them. g. Cathy is really interested in moving up in HR with the company. She has completed her degree part time and is trying to put together a budget to take her HR courses. She made the comment that she wished that the company provided some support for tuition costs and doesn't understand how the HR Manager's daughter managed to have her entire tuition paid for four years. Her comment was "there is always a deal for the right person". The only other person she knows of that is going to school part time is Hassan who is trying to complete his Bachelor of Commerce program within the same types of financial constraints. h. She said she knows that you will need orientation/onboarding training for the staff at the new location and there is no training package available. She asks if you would like her to start preparing one. a. Some guy from UBW (Union of Bottling Workers) found out about the bottling line expansion at the Cambridge plant and came onsite three weeks ago and talked to some of the bottling workers about joining UBW. j. She heard that he was asking about health and safety at the Cambridge plant but Cathy says that this has never been an issue. When staff get hurt, they go off on sick leave until they're better. The supervisor decides how long they get off, what went wrong and arranges to fix the problem. There used to be a health and safety committee, but the current system seems to be working so the committee has not met in over two years and no one is certified any longer. On impulse you decide to check on more thing before you sit down to collect your thoughts about the issues that have come to light. You have a good friend that works for the Ministry of Labour and you call her up and ask if she can check on the safety record of the company that used to own the Scarborough plant. She asks for the name of the company, you provide it and without going to check records, she says "Oh boy! That company has one of the worst safety records in the industry. Investigators have threatened to shut the plant down at least 4 times in the last 5 years. It would appear that the plant manager and supervisors are at the centre of all of the problems but I can't be sure if the entire culture of the company had a negative impact on safety. Totally bad news!" You are now ready to make a list of HR issues and possible recommendations as a way of preparing to write the report. !!!YOUR TASK!!! 1. Please divide your responses into three sections and use the chart provided at the end. In the first section, you will identify the HR issues under the following HR disciplines: a. Recruitment and Selection b. Compensation and Benefits c. Health and Safety d. Training and Development e. Labour Relations and Employee Discipline f. Other (any HR issue that does not fit in the areas noted above)