Skills Requirement of The Food Mart & Co

The organization chosen for analysis is The Food Mart & Co. This is a small retail organization in Australia. The company has been founded in the year 2015 and has been thriving to rise and success in the vast retail market of Australia.

Some of the major skills requirement of The Food Mart & Co. is

• Effective communication and speaking skills
• Co-operative and team management skills
• The ability to work in collaboration
• Presentable attitudes
• Meeting customer requirements
• Knowledge of computer operations
• Cash handlings
• Prior experience in the field of retailing is an added advantage for an individual joining.

The industrial relation in the organization is really smooth, the existing employees has reported moderate to high level of job satisfaction while working with the organization. Many have reported to gain knowledge, learn many new things on their first job with The Food Mart & Co. The relationship between the employees and the management of the organization has been positive and friendly till date.

One of the major functions in the retail organization is the forecasting. It allows the management of an organization to watch the future requirements and perform accordingly. The Food Mart &Co.  has been suffering with issues related to forecasting techniques due to the deficiency of retail manager’s performance in the past. Some of the major forecasting techniques for The Food Mart & Co. are

• Delphi Techniques
• Scenario analysis
• Subjective Approach
• Time-series forecasting.

In the recent years, the employee turnover of the organization has been really low. According to data of the organization only 15% workers have left the company in the past 2 years. The statistical data of the organization reveals the employee satisfaction and high demographics of the organizations workforce in the current year.

1. Factors affecting workforce supply.

Some of the probable factors that may affect the supply in the workforce of the organization are

• Financial resources like funds, investments.
• Physical resources like facilities, equipment’s in the organization.
• Natural resources like trademarks, copyrights
• Current procedures like software systems, programs related to the employees.
• Strategic risks, competitive market and balance in demand and supply in the retail market.

1. Organization’s need for a skilled workforce

The development and productivity of an organization is widely dependable on the diversified workforce of the organization. The Food Mart & Co. is a small retail organization that aims to grow and develop in the coming years and make a place for itself in the vast and competitive market of retailing. Hence skilled, positive and enthusiastic professionals are needed in the workforce of the organization. Employees with diverse skills and knowledges are required for increasing the organizations productivity.

1. Objectives for workforce modification

The basic objectives to modify the workforce are

• Identification of all the employees who are involved
• Strategy implementation
• Attaining successful understanding
• Identification of changes in work process and behavioral changes at work
• Analyzing the requirement for training

Modification of the workforce is needed to develop a strong team of professionals who can satisfy the customer needs and help in the company’s growth and productivity.

1. Identification of the cause of the turnover.

High level of employee turnover affects a business. It affects both emotionally and financially. The Turnover Tool that can be used to determine the causes of turnover in the organization. The tool includes calculation of the turnover costs, analysis of reports relate to turnover data, Exit interviews and surveys, Targeted recommendation and strategies to overcome the issue.

Issues related to Forecasting Techniques in The Food Mart & Co

Recommendations to minimize turnover includes

• Providing the employees good salaries and benefits
• Options of flexible schedule timings
• Offerings of performance feedbacks and incentives
• Making comfortable and fun filled work environment
• Bonus facilities and career progression opportunities

1. Objectives for retaining required skilled labor.

Tracking down the talent, recruitment of skilled and enthusiastic professionals and training of the employees included in the workforce. The management of the organization is responsible to recruit skilled and knowledgeable employees to develop a skilled workforce who can contribute to the company’s productivity.

1. Diversity plan in workforce.

Diversity means variety. Diversity should be implemented in the workforce since it enables an organization to be creative, innovative and open for changes. Similarities and differences in sex, cultural background, religion among employees in the workforce makes the organization heterogeneous. Diversity is considered to the strength of any organization since no two people are equivalent and effective utilization of the skills of every individual will contribute to the benefit of the company.

Current diversity legislation that provides the law protecting any sort of unfair treatments and discrimination in the workplace should be taken into consideration. Organization should be aware of the promotion of equality and fair treatment of employees working in the organization.

Diversity Plan	Setting Goals
Developing strategies and plans
Indicators and Actions
Implementing the plan in the workforce
Evaluating and measuring the results

1. Strategies to source skilled labor.

The basic strategies to recruit skilled employers for the organization are:

• Improvement of benefits
• Increase in the rate of compensation
• Investment in training purpose for the development of the workforce
• Encouraging workers on temporary basis
• Allowing workers from other cities and providing bonus and arrangements for them
• Facilitating candidates with expenses for relocation

1. Communication with the stakeholders

Stakeholders are partners of the organization. Effective communication with stakeholders and encouraging them to invest in the retail business can be profitable for The Food Mart & Co. The company aims to grow and hence financial support is necessary.

1. Organizational process.

1. Contingency plans.Contingency plans The Food Mart & Co. are required to help the organization in case of future risk managements or any unfavorable station that may occur in near future. Some of the basic contingency plans are

• Determining risks for the company in the retail market
• Preparing an evacuation strategy
• Forming a communication fan-out system
• Innovative and new steps to stick in the competitive market
• Adequate insurance for the company
• Usage of business websites and media

1. Procedure to action objectives for Training, Re-Deployment and Redundancy.

1. Growth reflection.

Management can assist staff to cope up with the changes by some ways like:

• Taking time to listen and watch
• Demonstrating the employees genuine concern
• Fixing the issues in the workplace
• Having an appositive attitude and promoting opportunities
• Providing effective training for all and preparing employees for upcoming job related challenges.

1. Workforce diversity goals.

Strategies to meet the workforce diversity in the retail market:

1. Planning of the succession

1. Recommendation of program.

The current profession of work is in the retail sector. The company, The Food Mart & Co. is a small company in Australia. The current job role of discussion is retail or store manager. Recommended programs that should be offered are training of the employees, tight budget plans and fixed resource programs with effective time management.

 

1. Exit interview and refine for future workforce demand changes.

Exit interviews in the retail industry can adversely affect the future demand of the workforce. Professionals tend to avoid companies with bad and negative data in the surveys.

1. Possible difficulties and strategies to overcome as a retail manager.

Difficulties	Strategies to overcome
Customer complaints and dissatisfaction	Staying calm, listening to the customer, not taking it personally
Work on holidays and weekends	Work with co-workers and other employees of the organization to reduce stress
Emergency calls and rough schedules	As manager can organize the schedule for other employees and plan out own schedule accordingly
Extra work for promotion	In the retail industry, customer satisfaction is the main goal and providing the customers with the best quality can bring the next big promotion.

1. Effects of labor trends on labor demands.

The demand and supply of labor id reflected in the development of labor market. The notable trends in the retail industry:

• Decreased labor demand
• Declining development of the supply of labor due to aging.
• Slow and stagnant growth of wage rates.

Monitoring of the labor market trends will help the organization in the retail market to anticipate the effect on the industry. Due to the decrease in the supply of labor retail organizations should review the design of their jobs and develop open-ended roles or part time job roles for securing the skilled aged employees of the workforce.

1. Organizational climate and employer satisfaction.

Factors Affecting Supply in the Workforce of The Food Mart & Co

Organizational climate depicts the experience of the employees regarding the culture of the organization they are working with. Some of the efficient ways to gauge the satisfaction level of the employees working in the organization are:

• Suggestion Box of the employees
• The performance review and appraisals
• Anonymous employee feedbacks

One of the best recommended tools for the measurement of the employee satisfaction level is Employee Satisfaction Surveys. These surveys should be conducted weekly of monthly to understand the concern and opinion of the employees of the organization.

1. Recommendation and impact on Australia.

Recommended changes:

• Right timing of services.
• Recognition and brand publicity
• Connecting with people and targeting the audience
• Scaling the sales figure of the company
• Adapting with the advanced technology

The growth of small and medium retailers like The Food Mart & Co. will cause an enormous increase and development of the retail market of Australia.

1. Policies to consider

Policies for consideration in the retail business for The Food Mart & Co. are:

• Policies of Store
• Work Hours
• Credit Policies
• Policies related to customer services
• Policies related to housekeeping
• Policies regarding security

Policies are required in the retail business for high productivity and success in the retail market. Policies are extremely important since this form the backbone of the retail company and keep the business alive in the competitive market of retailing.

1. The tool to measure the effectiveness of change processes

Financial results are one of the basic and major tools for the measurement of the effectiveness of the changes in the organization’s productivity. Success and development of an organization can be analyzed on the basis of the last 2 years financial reports and statements of the organization.

Environmental scanning is important for the organization since it will help the company to analyze both the inside and outside environment of the organization. The rapid changes in the environment has major impacts on the productivity of the organization and environmental scanning helps the organization to recognize the strength, weakness, threats and opportunities of the organization.

Skills to be included in the gap analysis are:

• Identification on the targets of the business
• Collection of relevant data
• Recruitment of skilled labor force
• Drafting of the training plan for the organizational growth

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