Contents

• This report is based on the following case study -
• You are the HR Manager in a manufacturing company. The company provides parts for the motor industry. Over recent years the success of the company has fluctuated considerably. There have been some good times – when a new contract was won. There have also been some bad times, for example when one of the major customers relocated to a different country and sought suppliers in that country.
• The Managing Director has decided that there has to be a new approach to managing the human resources in the company. At present, around 95% of the employees are permanent, with just 5% working on temporary contracts. The Managing Director wants to move to a situation where there are around 75% of employees working on permanent contracts, with 25% working on a temporary basis. The 25% would have short term contracts which would be terminated when there was no longer any demand for their services. However, it would be hoped that they could be recruited back to the company if demand then increased.
• The Managing Director believes that now is an ideal time to put in place this new approach because a new contract has just been won by the company. At present there are 350 employees in the company. There is a need to recruit around 100 new employees to meet the demands of the new contract, and this could be the opportunity to create the 75:25 balance that he wants to achieve.
• The Managing Director has insisted that line managers take responsibility for the recruitment process, to ensure that the required skills are recruited.

Description

This report answers the following questions -
• What approach to HR planning is most appropriate in this situation? Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your proposed approach, and suggest how you could make it as robust as possible so that the company can meet customer demands whilst still retaining the flexibility that is required.
• How should you train the temporary staff? Critically analyse the approach that you would suggest, remembering the need to balance cost against benefits.
• Are there any benefits to recruiting a diverse workforce? Explain any benefits that you can identify, as well as any possible difficulties that could result.
• The decision has been taken to give the responsibility for recruitment to line managers. Critically evaluate this decision, explaining the role that HR can play in supporting the change that this company is planning.