Bass Pro Management

Of Workforce Management
Introduction
Workforce management is one of the most important aspects of operating a business (Randolph Thomas & Horman, 2006). From a Workforce Management standpoint, Bass Pro Shops is strategically committed to the pursuit of quality over the long term. However, there are areas for improvement, as employee complaints of cutbacks, lack of job security, pay reduction, and so on, have led workers to view what was once a great place to work as now an organization that is more focused on customer service than it is on employee support. This paper will discuss the workforce environment of Bass Pro Shops, the nature of engagement and performance at Bass Pro, and how the workforce and leadership are being developed there. It will conclude with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of Bass Pro’s workforce management, opportunities for improvement, and proposed actions.
Field of inquiry #1: Workforce Environment
How does your selected organization build an effective and supportive workforce environment?
Bass Pro Shops used to incentivize its workers with good pay, job security and benefits; however, in recent years, the company has been undergoing restructuring in order to address sales declines (Bass Pro Shops Employee Reviews, 2017). There is also a lack of mentorship for new employees. Mentorship is important as it allows workers to learn on the go and to be supported by colleagues and guides in their line of work (Orpen, 1997). If they have questions they can ask their mentor instead of looking stunned and lost in front of a customer or continuously making mistakes through a process of guess and check until they get it right.
At the same time, Bass Pro uses inspirational leadership to guides its workers to be self-motivated (Life at Bass Pro Shops, 2018). It promotes teamwork in an effort to build a supportive workforce environment, and it is focused on developing a caring culture—even in the toughest of times, the company wants its employees to know it will be there for them to help them with their financial needs: “When disaster or personal hardship strikes, we are there to provide a hand up through the Bass Pro Cares Fund. Associates help contribute to the fund and support our Bass Pro family in devastating times of need” (Life at Bass Pro Shops, 2018). This shows that in spite of whatever complaints some employees may have, the company does still offer unique incentives and benefits.
How does your selected organization organize and manage your workforce?
Bass Pro Shops organizes and manages its workforce in a hierarchical manner with managers overseeing lower level employees, regional and district managers overseeing individual local shops, and higher level executives overseeing the regional and district managers. The workforce is managed by promoting a values-based workplace, wherein a culture of inclusion and diversity is utilized to create sense of teamwork among the employees. Benefits are also used to incentivize the workforce to perform at a high level (Life at Bass Pro Shops, 2018).
How does your selected organization assess your workforce capability and capacity needs?
The company assesses the workforce capabilities and capacity needs through internal auditing, sales performance, customer feedback, and employee surveying. Managers are tasked with examining areas where the company comes into barriers in terms of performance and looks at what factors may be causing the issue—whether they are cultural, personnel-related, customer-related, product-related, or motivation-related. The managers will gauge capacity needs on the number of customers who come through in any given part of the year and what the expected number can be. Employees are trained to work hard and stay positive, which is not always a good fit for some workers, who lack that kind of character that fits this type of management approach; nonetheless, the company appeals to many others who like the family-atmosphere and the ambiance that the workplace creates.
How does your selected organization recruit, hire, place, and retain new workforce members? (NIST, 2015f)
Workers are recruited, hired and placed through a lengthy hiring process that involves reviewing the talent pool, looking at resumes, conducting phone interviews and in-person interviews, as well as background checks before making a decision. The company looks at applicants’ experience, background, hobbies, special interests, special skills, attitude, outlook, and personality to make sure they are a good fit for the job. Finding the employee who is the right fit for the job is the most important part of the company’s approach to recruiting, hiring, placing and retaining. To reduce turnover, the company has created a profile of the perfect candidate for each of its positions, and it uses social media, recruiters, and other resources to increase its talent pool as it looks for applicants or potential hires who meet these specific criteria. As De Vries (1998) points out, finding the workers with the right criteria who are a right fit for the company is the best type of management a company can engage in.
Field of inquiry #2: Workforce Engagement & Performance
How does your selected organization foster an organizational culture that is characterized by open communication, high performance, and an engaged workforce? (NIST, 2015f)
One of the key ways in which Bass Pro Shops builds an organizational culture that is characterized by open communication, high performance, and an engaged workforce is through the artistic and conscientious development of its workplace atmosphere. The atmosphere and ambience of a Bass Pro Shop is charged with an inviting and invigorating feeling that makes workers (and consumers) want to be there. They enjoy the sounds, the sights, the experiences, the open spaces and interactions that the workplace environment affords (Babin & Attaway, 2000). Babin and Attaway (2000) note that the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield uses “ambient characteristics to provide hedonic value” to attract both customers and workers (p. 92). This keeps the staff communicative, performing at a high level because they enjoy their environment, and engaged with customers and their work.
Another key way the organization fosters a culture of communication, engagement and performance is through the organization’s focus on teamwork, diversity and inclusion (Life at Bass Pro Shops, 2018). By emphasizing teamwork, the company is able to spread the concept that everyone employed there is on the same page, working towards the same goal, and thus should be supportive of one another no matter what. The company fosters communication through expressing values based on diversity and inclusion and the need to be open and welcoming to all people regardless of their background, ethnicity or gender. The company fosters performance by making sure that everyone feels involved in the decision-making process, by obtaining feedback from workers and making workers feel like they are appreciated, which serves to motivate them to want to do more and help the company reach its goals.
Field of inquiry #3: Workforce and Leadership Development
How do the learning and development systems support the organization’s needs and the personal development of workforce members, managers, and leaders? (NIST, 2015f)
The organization could stand to strengthen its learning and development systems in order to support the company’s needs and the personal development of workforce members, managers and leaders. Currently the onboarding process is weakened by the fact that it lacks a substantial mentoring system. Onboarding is a crucial phase of bringing in new hirers and developing them appropriately (Klein & Polin, 2012). In the onboarding stage, the new hire is introduced to the company, is made aware of duties and responsibilities, is made to understand what will be expected of him, and is give an opportunity to learn the ropes of the company’s process. Mentorship throughout this stage is equally as important as it provides the new hire with support and allows the new hire to feel good and comfortable about being on the job knowing that there is someone nearby to assist him. It gives the new hire confidence, a feeling of security, and a general sense that the company cares enough about him to make sure he has everything he needs to perform at a high level.
Bass Pro Shops suffers from a lack of mentorship, as some workers have complained in the past (Bass Pro Shops Employee Reviews, 2017). In order to improve its ability to develop workforce members, managers and leaders, the company has to start by putting the needs of its workers first instead of always just focusing on the customer. The company is very good at serving the customer because it takes time to find out what the customer wants and then sets about meeting that need. Now the company needs to satisfy its workers’ needs using the same approach.
Organization’s STRENGTHS with regards to MBNQA standards for that construct
The strengths of the organization are its core values with respect to managing its workforce. By focusing on teamwork, diversity and inclusivity, the company is able to foster a communicative spirit, a workplace culture that promotes hard work and supportiveness, and a general feeling of good will among workers. It also has an excellent workplace atmosphere that it has taken pains to cultivate to appeal to both customers and workers. The company’s workplace culture focuses on empowering its workers through the application of inspirational leadership, which gives workers a reason to pursue the goals of the company and embrace the vision that the organization seeks to promote.
Organization’s OPPORTUNITIES for IMPROVEMENT
The company lacks a true mentorship program during the onboarding process and this is its biggest weakness. New hires do not feel as secure or as supported as they could be. The cutbacks and lack of benefits that some feel pinch could all be easily overcome through the use of a good mentorship program that helps workers to get to know the new environment, allows them to ask questions until they feel comfortable standing on their own, and creates a better feeling of solidarity among workers. To decrease turnover rates and keep workers happy, focusing on implementing a true mentorship program would be a step in the right direction.
Proposed ACTIONS
The company must start focusing on employee needs. Currently it is very occupied with satisfying customers—but in order to satisfy customers the company is going to want to have happy workers. By satisfying its workers first, the company can ensure that good will is passed on to the customers. The employees need to feel secure and satisfied in their work and that may mean offering them better incentives to keep them happy and to make them feel that they do have job security. The company should be more transparent about what is going on during restructuring so that employees do become panicked about their future with the company.
The company should also start focusing more on mentoring its new hires and teaching them how to be effective leaders within the company. Mentors offer the best opportunity for new hires to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding they will require to perform at a high level. The more instruction and support the new hires receive, the more likely they will feel confident. This can lead to a reduction in turnover rates and an overall improved employee morale.
The company’s approach to leadership using the inspirational style may work for some employees but it is not going to work for all. Finding workers who are the right fit may be difficult to do and ultimately unrealistic given the changes in culture over time. Thus, the company should aim to personalize its approach to leadership and implement more of a servant leadership style, which would facilitate the mentorship program that it should also implement to keep workers informed about their duties and trained to the best of the organization’s abilities.
References
Babin, B. J., & Attaway, J. S. (2000). Atmospheric affect as a tool for creating value and gaining share of customer. Journal of Business research, 49(2), 91-99.
Bass Pro Shops Employee Reviews. (2017). For manager. Retrieved from https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Bass-Pro-Shops/reviews?fjobtitle=Manager&fcountry=ALL
De Vries, M.F.K., 1998. Charisma in action: The transformational abilities of Virgin's Richard Branson and ABB's Percy Barnevik. Organizational Dynamics, 26(3), pp.7-21.
Klein, H. J., & Polin, B. (2012). Are organizations on board with best practices onboarding. The Oxford handbook of organizational socialization, 267-287.
Life at Bass Pro Shops. (2018). Careers. Retrieved from https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/careers-life
Orpen, C. (1997). The effects of formal mentoring on employee work motivation, organizational commitment and job performance. The Learning Organization, 4(2), 53-60.
Randolph Thomas, H., & Horman, M. J. (2006). Fundamental principles of workforce management. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 132(1), 97-104.