Staffing Organizations

Introduction

Employment relations have undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades under the influence of economics globalization and increased work opportunities. The bureaucratic control within organizations have been replaced by more labor-oriented policies that encompass increased employee involvement and engagement in the managerial decision making process. Staffing within organizations has thus assumed new complexities and managers lay increasing emphasis on providing the employees with an enabling work environment. The focus is on improving employee commitment and long term relationship that is fruitful for both parties. Based on these observations, the essay explores the staffing policies and practices that should be adopted by a coffee shop. The subsequent sections highlight the type of employment relationship that should exist between the coffee shop and its employees, means of overcoming disparate treatment, type of external influences that can hinder staffing, Redressal plan, strategy for workforce diversity and job requirement analysis for store managers and coffee servers.

Type of employment relationship

Employment relationship must focus on strengthening the cooperation between managers and employees to achieve the desired goals and objectives. Legal perspectives encompass a detailed outline of employment contract and terms and conditions that define the work standards, employment obligations and benefits available to the employee (Countouris, 2007). Employment contracts must outline the details of employment and terms that dictate the work conditions, employee duties, responsibilities, accountability, benefits and facilities. The coffee shop must ensure that the contracts are explained and understood by employees and that they agree to follow the specified standards and policies on their workplace. It is also important that compensation terms are agreed by both the parties in addition to the clarity on proposed benefits and reward structure. The employment at the coffee shop may be temporary or on a fixed hour basis, the managers need to ensure that all these details are specified clearly in the employment contract (Chen, 2008). Besides contractual terms, the legal perspective of employment relationship should also focus on ensuring adequate health and safety measures at workplace to avoid accidents or health hazards. A caring employer is valued by employees and it helps in increasing job commitment.

Ways to avoid disparate treatment

Differential treatment of individuals within the organization is a common issue faced by managers. The disparity in behavior may be on account of race, gender, religion, age, ethnicity or disability. Since the coffee shop employs individuals from differing backgrounds, such practices may be common. Hence the management must adopt certain measures to avoid such problems at the workplace. These include evaluating assessment procedures at the time of recruitment, avoid questions that may reflect a biased attitude towards some demographic segment, ensure that the managerial decisions are based on relevant grounds and do not compromise the equal opportunity work policies, performance assessment and feedback are based on individual work, and human resource practices conform to the equal employment policies (Noe and Wright, 2007). A key step in this direction would be to provide the employees with the scope to raise any discriminatory issue to the company management.

External influences that could hinder staffing

Staffing practices within organizations are deeply impacted by the external environment within which the business operates. These influences involve legal structure that regulates staffing policies, economic development that determine job opportunities, workforce trends, competitive environment, customer orientation and community beliefs that shape the workforce behavior (Caruth, Caruth and Pane, 2009). The employment practices at the coffee shop will be vastly influenced by these factors and hence the management must consider providing an amicable work environment that meets the demands and requirements of the external environment in which the business operates. These considerations involve adherence to labor laws, scope for career progression for employees, adequate compensation and benefits scheme, development opportunities and suitable human resource framework that promotes employee job satisfaction.

Rightsizing and downsizing issues

Organizations are forced to terminate employees on short notices for cost cutting purposes and in order to retain business viability. Rightsizing or downsizing staff is often a challenging task since this spreads anger and dissatisfaction among the employees. Hence, it is important for organizations to plan and forecast manpower requirements in advance so that the management can effectively apply the skills of its employees across all departments (Bechet, 2008). The coffee shop can avoid downsizing by adopting temporary work contracts with some employees and this can be renewed when surplus staff is required. Such contractual agreement can prevent unpleasant situation and pave the way for effective staffing practices within the organization.

Workforce diversity strategy

Managing a diverse workforce can be challenging. However, it also provides the organization with an advantage of different skills, beliefs, perception and attitudes combined to provide the business with a competitive edge (Walsh, 2012). Strategic plans and effective work practices can help the business to prevent discriminatory practices and adopt a fair approach to managerial dealing with the diverse workforce. Such practices include regulatory policies, open discussion forums and working code that eliminates the ground for any bias or discriminatory practices.

Job analysis

Job analysis of store managers –

Duties and tasks – monitor store operations, allocate tasks to individuals and teams, maintain store performance records, maintain employee performance records, prepare daily, weekly and monthly store performance reports;

Environment – demanding customers’ pressure to improve performance, sales and targets, aggressive customers, long work hours;

Tools and equipments – computers, cash register, kitchen equipment;

Relationships – customer interaction, employee relations and higher management;

Requirements – managerial capabilities, accounting knowledge, human resource management skills, customer service.

Job analysis for coffee servers –

Duties and tasks – customer order taking, order delivery, reporting to store manager;

Environment – demanding customers, long work hours, pressure to perform better;

Tools and equipments – coffee maker;

Relationships – customer interaction, interaction with the store manager;

Requirements – customer service.

Conclusion

Based on the observations and highlights in the above sections, it can be concluded that in order to retain its business viability and improve customer service, the coffee shop must adopt an employee-oriented management approach. This will help the business in retaining its customers and profitability through satisfied and motivated workforce.