Note: The open resource text on which this course is based does not cover some of the content in this case. Therefore, in addition to reading Chapters $11$ and $12$ in the course textbook, it is recommended that students also read the following sections in $$Fundamentals of Business $$ Canadian Edition Links to an external site.$($Business Faculty from Ontario Colleges and eCampusOntario Program Managers, July $12,2019)$:

Human Resource Planning through Equity, Inclusion and Diversity in the Workplace $($physical pages $222-229$; numbered pages $210-217)$

Performance Appraisal through Recognizing Employee Contributions $($physical pages $236-240$; numbered pages $224-228)$

In this case study, we are returning to visit our friend Thanasi Filip. You recently helped Thanasi Filip develop a new organizational chart that allowed him to effectively organize his store, Hardware Shack. When you did the redesign, the chart looked like this:

Ch$\mathrm{.}14-1.$png

Hardware Shack sells all sorts of goods for a variety of trade work. It services both buyers for personal projects and large businesses. Hardware Shack currently has about $45$ employees. The organizational chart you advised him to adopt was one focusing on departments. There were six departments $$ one for each of five store areas $($lawn care, plumbing, d$$cor$,$ etc.$),$ and a functional department for administrative tasks.

It$$s been about a year, and business is improving again. Customers are coming back. So many customers are coming back that Thanasi Filip now wants to hire more employees for each of the store$$s departments. Thanasi has called you again to help with some new problems that he is facing. His oldest and best workers are soon retiring, and he$$ll need a lot of new employees. This has created some new issues.

First, he has struggled to find good employees to hire. He interviews people and hires people who he thinks will be great employees, only to find out later that they are either bad at the job, or they leave within a few months. This has really frustrated him. $$How should I assess which employees I should hire? I feel like I$$m just throwing darts at a board and hoping for the best.$$

Second, Thanasi hasn$$t had to train multiple new people at the same time. Typically, he would have new employees shadow one of his old trusted employees on the job for a couple of shifts, then send the new employees off on their own. This worked when there were only one or two new employees at a time, but there promises to be many more joining the business soon. He$$s worried that this training will be inadequate now that his older staff are retiring.

Third, Thanasi has not been giving his current employees regular performance reviews. His front$-$line staff in each of the store areas are expected to be salespeople, consultants, and customer service agents. Not giving staff performance reviews has worked for Thanasi so far, but now that his older staff are retiring, and more new staff are being hired, he fears that his employees$$ performances will soon be deteriorating. He$$d like to find a better way of assessing employee performance.

Last, Thanasi wants to maintain a workforce that is diverse and practices employment equity. He knows that it$$s not only good for the bottom line, but it$$s also just the right thing to do$.$ While he has turned his mind to his human resource issues, he thinks now is the time to address diversity and ensure that his subconscious biases don$$t get in the way of effective equity planning.

Hardware Shack is growing. Thanasi dreams that the store will get bigger and better. The only thing that can stop him is his newfound problems with employees. It$$s a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

Questions

What process should Thanasi use to hire new front$-$line employees, and why?