Because of this connection it would be ideal for sales managers to be developed and promoted internally so that this cultural notion is maintained.
Staffing Strategy
There are several key things that Chern's has to address when developing a successful staffing strategy.
Do we want a core or flexible workforce?
Chern's needs to have a core workforce as its primary staffing model in order to maintain its goal of excellent customer service. Because customer service is key to their business strategy having a core workforce will help to maintain consistency in the delivery of customer service.
Do we prefer to hire internally or externally?
When it comes to management opportunities Chern's should hire internally. This will allow them to develop individuals into the company's culture and way of doing things. Particularly for the position of sales manger hiring internally would allow a person who already knows the companies culture to begin to provide the support that they were used to getting as a sales associate.
Do we want to hire for or train and develop needed skills?
Chern's needs to train and develop needed skills in order to be able to support the culture that they have established. From the beginning they need to hire sales associates that they feel they will be able to train to develop into good sales managers. This allows the company to better use the culture to their advantage. Good customer service is the core of this culture and needs to be adhered to by everyone.
Do we want to replace or retain our talent?
In Chern's case, the key is to retain as much talent as they can. They spend a lot of time and money training...
This should not only be a requirement for getting hired but then should be fostered as an employee is managed everyday.
Will we staff proactively or reactively?
Hiring should be done on a proactive basis in order to initially get the right talent in the door.
Which jobs should we focus on?
Sales associate jobs are very important to this company and should be the focus of their staffing strategy. Getting the right sales associates on board is the key to developing sales mangers that are going to have the ability to propagate the culture of offering exemplary customer service and thus continue to foster the company's biggest competitive advantage in the market.
Is staffing treated as an investment or as a cost?
The general feeling is that hiring good talent is an investment in the company's future. This allows the company to propagate their customer service excellence agenda. Replacing talent is very costly and should not be something that the company promotes. There is of course going to be some rate of turnover and this should be expected as a normal function of doing business.
Will staffing be centralized or decentralized?
Staffing should be decentralized in order to better utilize the individual talent that each employee brings to the table.
References
Phillips, S.M & Gully, S.M. (2012).Strategic Staffing (second addition). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
