Tipton graduated in May 2021, and after considering several job offers, decided to join the family business created by her father, George. George opened his first self-service car wash in 2013 and his second in 2015. The main attraction of the self-service car wash business is that they are capital (i.e., money) intensive, rather than labor intensive. Thus, once the investment in the building and machinery was made, the car washes could be run with a single unskilled attendant, thereby eliminating many of the problems that come with having a service business. The attractiveness of operating with virtually no skilled labor withstanding, George decided before opening the second location to include an automatic car wash with attendants that also allowed for monthly memberships. Adding the automatic system allowed for a business expansion with consistent cash flows due to the adoption of the monthly membership. He was also early to market, which made him the only provider in town. To his pleasant surprise, the automatic car was increased business in the second location dramatically. It also increased his return on initial investment because of the consistent cash flow from monthly memberships. Customers appreciated the extra care the attendants provided when washing their cars, as well as the ease of not having to do it themselves. Additionally, the memberships were charged to the customer's card automatically, so the only effort on the part of the customer was actually showing up. Many customers bought multiple memberships to cover all the cars in their households. This eventually led to the pilot program of fleet car washes, which would allow business to use the same service for company vehicles. The success of the second car wash, along with the improved cash flow, allowed George to open 1 additional location in 2016, 2 in 2017, and 2 more in 2018. He branded the car washes (including the 2 original) as AutoSuds. With 7 locations, AutoSuds had officially moved into becoming labor and capital intensive. Each location was open 7 days week, from 7am - 8pm. Each store required a manager and approximately 300 hours of car wash attendant per week. Additionally, a corporate office was created that included an outside sales person for business customers, an accounting clerk, and an administrative assistant that also processed payroll. George served as the owner/general manager. At this size (2,540 hours of payroll per week and $285,000 of monthly revenue company wide) AutoSuds was large enough to be applicable to all state and federal business, tax, and employment laws. Tipton joined the company with the understanding from George that her role was to serve as a troubleshooter and consultant for George. She was to learn the operations of the business with the aim of incorporating business concepts to solve problems, streamline operations, and facilitate growth opportunities.

Questions

1. Make a list of five specific HR problems you think AutoSuds may be facing.
2. What is the first issue that Tipton should address?