Tangle Wood

Forecast

Case 1

Contents

Staffing Levels

 Acquire and Develop

 Hire Yourself or Outsource

 External or Internal Hiring

 Core or Flexible Workforce

 Hire or Retain

 National or Global

 Attract or Relocate

 Overstaff or Understaff

 Short or Long Term Focus

Staffing Quality

 Person/Job or Person/Organization Match

 Specific or General KSAO's

 Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce Quality

 Active or Passive Diversity

The following report was compiled for Daryl Perrone, Staffing Services Director - Tanglewood Department Stores.

The company's vision statement is this:

Tanglewood will be the best department store for customers seeking quality, durability, and value for all aspects of their active lives. We are committed as a company to providing maximum value to our customers, shareholders and employees. We will accomplish this goal by adhering to the core values of responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and always keeping performance and customer service in the forefront.

With this statement in mind, the following recommendations are made to assist the Tanglewood Department Stores' commitments.

Staffing Levels

Acquire or Develop

Since the acquisition of the additional stores, it has become apparent that the staffing strategy, while neither better nor worse, strays greatly from the original vision of Emerson and Wood. In order to get all stores back under the corporate umbrella, it is suggested that for the new Tanglewood Stores, management should acquire employees who are have knowledge and skills for this type of environment and who can "hit the ground running". It is suggested that experienced Tanglewood employees be transferred to the newly acquired stores in an effort to establish the operations and ideology in which Tanglewood was founded. Their experience can be utilized to train and direct the development of new associates.

Hire Yourself or Outsource

It is the recommendation of this firm that Tanglewood is in full control of selection and hiring of its employees. Tanglewood has a strict vision and expectation of its employees. Hiring managers of the Tanglewood stores are aware of the foundation in which the corporate culture resides. Because this culture is the basis of Tanglewood Department Stores, it is in the best interest of the stores that Tanglewood management be the ones in charge of placing the right associate in the stores.

External or Internal Hiring

A mixture of external and internal hiring will need to be done. The external hiring will ensure that you find the best of the best to help Tanglewood to continue to grow. The movement of internal employees to new roles within other departments or into management positions will ensure cohesiveness and retention of other employees as it shows the value that Tanglewood places on its associates. External hiring is an excellent source of placement for those new or entry level positions.

Core or Flexible Workforce

It is the opinion of this consulting firm to continue to use the core workforce and use a flexible workforce only when necessary. A core workforce is central to the core goods and services that Tanglewood strives to offer. They will retain the knowledge of the products and have a sense of loyalty to the company. A flexible workforce can be used for seasonal work when necessary.

Hire or Retain

A retention strategy should be used by Tanglewood. Working to retain employees would help minimize turnover which would reduce the cost of training. This would also give you a pool of candidates to move internally to other departments or into management positions. This aligns with other recommendations that this consulting firm has made.

National or Global

It is our recommendation that a more global approach would be best. To outsource or offshore, Tanglewood would be able to manufacture goods and provide services at a more reasonable cost to its consumers.

Attract or Relocate

Even though it is expensive to relocate, it is our findings that Tanglewood should. This would allow the company to move into areas of the country where the talent pool is the greatest. This would also allow them to compete better with their competitors.

Overstaff or Understaffed

It is the view of this consulting firm that Tanglewood is overstaffed by the data that has been presented to us. There seems to be too many people staffed at each store to be efficient and effective. The company states it likes a team environment. With that said, reducing the head count would encourage more team commitment of getting the job done. As the mission statement projects, "We are committed as a company to providing maximum value to our customers, shareholders and employees. We will accomplish this goal by adhering to the core values of responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and always keeping performance and customer service in the forefront."

Short- or Long-Term Focus

Both short and long term goals are set for all companies; however, fulfilling both is difficult. Short-term goals are the first priority for Tanglewood. We recommend that you align all your HR departments to have the same objectives thru training and working with each other to learn about each associates strengths and weaknesses. This will lead to long term goals of ensuring that new acquisitions have a smoother transition to the Tanglewood HR processes.

Staffing Quality

Person/Job or Person/ Organization Match

It is the recommendation of this consulting