Create a digital staffing dashboard for Chern$$s with the five most important indicators of the overall staffing process referencing this info:

Strategic Staffing at Chern$$s: A Case Study

Chern$$s Company History and Organization

Siblings Ryan and Ann Chern founded Chern$$s$,$ an upscale men$$s and women$$s department

store, $20$ years ago after they graduated with their MBAs. The pair had planned to launch their

own company for years, and refined their business model after each spent a great deal of time

learning about the retail industry by working in different retail organizations. The product mix

and high$-$quality products Chern$$s sells made it rapidly successful, and the company developed

a loyal following. The firm quickly expanded its product line and began opening additional locations $15$ years ago. Ryan and Ann have turned their basic idea of providing customers with the

best service, selection, quality, and value into a thriving business. The two are now co$-$presidents

of Chern$$s: Ryan serves as the company$$s chief executive officer; Ann serves as the company$$s

chief operating officer.

Chern$$s pursues an aggressive growth strategy. Currently the company has $140$ stores in

$28$ states on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Chern$$s employs an average of $19,000$ full$-$ and

part$-$time employees. Providing superior customer service has been the company$$s main business

strategy and has successfully differentiated it from its competitors. Although the company$$s products are expensive, the high product quality and excellent customer service have made the company

successful. Because customers$$ tastes can differ from one store to the next, the company tries to be

as decentralized as possible. Therefore, it gives its store managers a considerable amount of discretion in terms of how they run their stores. Likewise, each manager runs his or her own department

as a small business and is rewarded according to the department$$s and the store$$s overall success.

Because customer service lies at the heart of the company$$s business strategy, it is a core

part of the corporate culture of Chern$$s$.$ Ann and Ryan believe that customer service is the essence

of selling and that because the firm$$s sales associates are in direct contact with customers, they are

the core drivers of the company$$s performance. Both department managers and assistant department managers support the sales associates. Besides giving the sales staff their full support, the

department managers at Chern$$s are, in turn, supported by their store managers, assistant department managers, buyers, and merchandising managers. Figure A$1$ illustrates these relationships.

Core values are an essential part of the Chern$$s brand and are the foundation of its culture.

The company$$s family ownership contributes to its desire to make every employee and customer

feel valued and cared for. The firm is known for its strong and unique culture, which it feels is due

to its belief that the best approach to business is to hire good people. As such, Chern$$s tries to identify and select the right people, train them, and give them the tools and autonomy they need to succeed. Successful employees are rewarded with above$-$market base salaries and generous bonuses.

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Figure A$-1$ The Sales Support Relationships among Chern$$s Staff Members

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$404$ Appendix

The management philosophy at Chern$$s is based on empowerment. Chern$$s believes that

by hiring well it can trust its employees to use their own judgment. Consequently, the firm

gives them a considerable amount of freedom in terms of how they do their jobs. By striving to

create a fair and positive environment and giving each employee the tools and autonomy he or

she needs to succeed, the company feels it has created an environment in which its sales associates can truly excel. In fact, last year, $42$ Chern$$s sales associates sold at least $$1,000,000$ in

merchandise$$a company record.

Because Chern$$s has a strong reputation for customer service, quality, and selection, it

enjoys very positive brand recognition among its targeted customers. It is consistently named

one of the top three retailers in regional customer surveys and has been listed among Fortune

magazine$$s top $100$ best companies to work for. Last year the company ranked number $72$ on

Fortune$$s list, down from $44$ the previous year. It was the second$-$highest retailer on the list,

behind Nordstrom$$s$.$ It also ranked as having the best customer service among retailers for the

past three years in customer surveys developed by the National Retail Federation.