Case Study $2$

Thinking Outside the $($Storage$)$ Box

Darshan Gauthier $($they$/$them$)$ sat at their desk in their home office feeling perplexed and overwhelmed. Six months ago, they had joined CubeIt Storage as an HR manager. Darshan had taken on this new role with great excitement and the belief that they could make a difference, improve company operations, and be a difference maker, for the employer and employees alike. Given the current circumstances this now seemed like a dream and na$$ve thinking.

CubeIt Storage, based in Prince Edward Island, provided storage solutions to over $800$ customers. In business for over $5$ years, the company rented a variety of on$-$site compartments to customers on a monthly or yearly basis. The company currently employed $30$ people, with $10$ of these individuals having joined in the past year due to growth and increased demand for the services.

In the past week, the vice$-$president of operations had approached Darshan with a variety of issues and questions. A group of $3$ employees in the front office had complained to their manager that they did not know how to properly use the booking and invoicing system. These individuals, ranging in age from $25$ to $58$ years old, also shared that they weren$$t working well together as they had different approaches to interacting with customers and disagreed on how to use the software to track inventory of available storage compartments. An employee in the area where storage compartments are maintained shared concerns that the bins and areas around them were not being properly maintained and the facilities were dirty and disorganized.

Another person in the accounting office had just asked to work from home and thought that having to be physically present in the office was useless. Furthermore, the past month had seen a sharp decline in rental rates and senior managers were now thinking that they might have to downsize operations and hire people to work as independent contractors if and when business once again increased. Darshan had been asked to comment on why business had declined and advise the leadership team about their proposed strategy pertaining to the workforce.

To add to all of this, $2$ employees had met with Darshan over the past weeks to share that they were unhappy about the cameras that were installed throughout the company. These had initially been implemented to ensure that people$$s possessions remained safe. This guarantee of security was an integral part of how CubeIt Storage marketed its services to current and potential customers.

Darshan knew that the management team was counting on them to provide advice on how to address the issues the company was now facing. They shut their office door and began documenting a plan of action to share with the company leaders.

Questions:

What issue should Darshan address first? Why?

What actions could be taken to help front$-$office employees enhance their working relationships?

Should the employee in the accounting office be allowed to work from home? Why or why not?

Should the company downsize operations and hire people to work as independent contractors if and when business picks up$?$ What are key considerations within this decision?