Dealing With Cherns Staffing Problems

The Chern’s Case Study

Chern’s is an upscale departmental store that was founded more than 20 years ago by Ryan and Ann Chern as a shoe and handbag retailer. Since its inception, the company has experienced tremendous growth to an extent that it’s a successful national chain that specializes in men’s and women’s apparel. The rapid success and growth of this company can be attributable to various factors including its provision of high-quality merchandise to customers and outstanding team of workers. The other factors that have contributed to its success and growth include utilizing a highly trained professional sales team and using an up-to-date inventory and customer service management software. However, the company is experiencing tremendous challenges in its staffing strategies given an average of 20% and 15% turnover in its full-time and part time employees respectively. As a result, the company needs to identify a suitable solution to its staffing strategies in order to enhance the effectiveness of its workforce.
Step 1 – Recap and Analyze the Relevant Facts
Chern’s has existed for more than 20 years and developed to become a national chain of upscale men’s and women’s apparel. Some of the factors that have contributed to the success and growth of this company include customer service, high product quality, and commitment to hiring highly qualified candidates. A critical aspect in the firm’s commitment to hiring the right people is the use of appropriate staffing strategies. Chern’s has a history of promoting from within since it considers its employees as long-term investments for its future growth, success, and profitability. Throughout the years, Chern’s has utilized strategic staffing through which its hiring approaches are based on specific outcome goals. These outcome goals are divided into two including short-term outcome goals, which are the basis for short-term processes for hiring additional support staff (Daley, 2014). On the other hand, Chern’s also utilizes long-term outcome goals, which are the bases for aligning the staffing function with the organization’s business strategy and other aspects of human resources. However, the company is experiencing issues in relation to the appropriate mix of its full and part time staff given the average of 20% and 15% turnover of each respectively. The identification of the appropriate mix of staffing is considered crucial towards realization of reduced turnover ratio and cost savings by the firm.
Step 2 – Determining the Root Problem
The root problem in Chern’s case or situation is the lack of an appropriate mix of staffing efficiently, which is characterized by the 20% and 15% turnover in full-time and part time employees respectively.
Step 3 – Identifying the Problem Components
As previously shown, one of the components of Chern’s root problem is the turnover in full-time and part time employees. This turnover indicates that the company needs to evaluate is mix of staffing, especially in relation to its aggressive plan to expand by opening 15 stores annually over a period of 5 years. The second component is the need for the firm’s HR strategy to obtain, develop, and sustain an employee base with long-term career goal. The strategy should also be diverse depending on demographics of every market where the company operates in. Third, Chern’s needs to ensure that its staffing strategy mitigates the probable claim of discrimination given that most of its Department Managers and Store Managers tend to be males.
Step 4 – Generating Alternatives
One of the alternatives for Chern’s to address the root problem is to engage in strategic staffing, which will entail linking particular staffing processes and outcome goals to business strategy. According to Phillips & Gully (2015), strategic staffing is a process that entails staffing a firm in future and goal-centered measures that promote an organization’s business strategy and effectiveness. For Chern’s, strategic staffing will entail increasing the number of its part time staff while reducing the number of full-time employees. The company should retain its strategy of shifting a part time staff to full time as well as moving a full-time associate to a managerial position. As part of workforce planning in strategic staffing, Chern’s should develop a proper recruitment and advertising plan with specific timelines for reviewing CVs, interviews, and assessment of job applicants. The second alternative is for the company’s HR administration to be centralized in order to link staffing processes with business strategy. The third alternative is for Chern’s to review its job screening process and its retention and internal promotion procedures and document information regarding applicants and their jobs.
Step 5 – Evaluating Alternatives
While the problem of staffing at Chern’s can be addressed by the three alternatives listed in the previous step, the most suitable options are two as follows:
a. Strategic Staffing: The current staffing problem can be addressed through strategic staffing i.e. aligning staffing process with business strategy. This would help the company to reduce costs and achieve a lower turnover ratio in relation to part time and full-time employees. Strategic staffing provides necessary flexibility through which Chern’s will enhance retention, free up full-time employees, and enhance competitiveness (Half, 2017).
b. Reviewing Job Screening, Retention, and Promotion Processes: The second most suitable alternative is review of job screening, retention, and promotion procedures. The review should focus on assessment of the current staffs based on ability, experience, qualifications, and aspirations. This process should culminate in the creation of a recruitment guide that specifies hiring procedures and steps taken to fill out a job position. The suitability of this alternative is attributable to the fact that it will resolve the relative discrimination in mid-level management.
Step 6 – Choose an Alternative
In light of the findings of the analysis, the most suitable alternative to address the Chern’s employment situation is strategic staffing. This is a suitable alternative because it will enable the company to realize the proper mix of staffing in terms of part-time and fulltime employees as well as the balance between male and female employees in middle-level management positions. It will also contribute to lower turnover ratio, which implies less payments in overall compensation and benefits for employees. It provides a framework for the company to maintain a long-term focus in the overall human resource management process.
Step 7 – Implementation Plan
The implementation of the strategic staffing process will entail building off the current recruitment and hiring program. First, Chern’s should assess its current program and develop a recruitment and advertising plan for internal and external hiring. The plan should incorporate measures to provide potential employees with necessary information regarding the vacant job positions as well as specific timelines for reviewing CVs, conducting interviews, and assessment of job applicants. This should be followed by assessing competencies of its current employees to determine training programs and developmental opportunities that enhance their readiness for specific positions (Walkley, 2016). Once this is carried out, the firm should conduct upward mobility to retain talent while ensuring the right people are in the right job positions. The other step is for the company to utilize its existing training program for further training and development of employees to enhance their competencies. These steps should be implemented within specific timelines as follows:
Action
Responsible Department
Timeframe

1. Assessment of current staffing program
Human Resource and the Top Management
3 weeks

2. Development of recruitment and hiring plan (internal and external)
Human Resource
2 weeks

3. Assessment of competencies of current employees
Human Resource
3 weeks

4. Determination of training programs and developmental opportunities
Human Resource
2 weeks

5. Upward mobility for retaining talent
Human Resource and the Top Management
2 months

6. Further training and development of employees
Human Resource
To be conducted periodically within 1 year



Step 8 – Alternative Choice
The successful implementation of the proposed solution to the Chern’s problem will require evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the process. The evaluation will be carried out after the first six months of implementation to determine whether desired goals are being achieved and necessary areas for improvement. Evaluation will entail examining data on part-time and fulltime employee turnover and the balance between male and female workers in mid-level management positions. Moreover, data on cost savings during recruitment will also be analyzed to determine whether the strategy is effective. If the strategy does not generate desired results, I would start the process over again, but through making changes in the identified areas of improvement.
In conclusion, Chern’s is a successful national chain that specializes in men’s and women’s apparel through commitment to hiring the right people, high quality products, and excellent customer service. However, the company is currently facing staffing problems relating to the lack of an appropriate mix between part-time and fulltime employees as well as balance in male and female employees in mid-management positions. Based on the analysis of the situation and the different alternatives, the most suitable option to deal with this problem is engaging in strategic staffing.
References
Daley, J. (2014, December 5). Cherns Case Study. Retrieved September 22, 2017, from https://prezi.com/xe67_isqzlut/cherns-case-study/
Half, R. (2017, April 25). The Many Benefits of a Flexible Staffing Strategy. Retrieved September 22, 2017, from https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/working-with-a-staffing-agency/the-many-benefits-of-a-flexible-staffing-strategy
Phillips, J. & Gully, S.M. (2015). Strategic staffing, global edition (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Walkley, K. (2016, February 29). Chern’s Consultation Case. Retrieved September 22, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/KyleWalkley/cherns-case-study-59478955