Confidently Practice Online with Free SHRM-CP Exam Cram

A clothing retail company with three locations in a popular beach resort area has been in business for over three years. There are two similar retailers in the same beach town competing for the same customers and labor pool.

Recently the company has had extensive growth due to a new clothing design. Despite the growth in sales, their turnover is high. Employees do not stay longer than 90 days, as the competition is enticing sales staff away. Turnover is now affecting their customer satisfaction and increasing the workload on the remaining staff.

Most of the management staff started as sales floor employees and received little to no management training. One of the key criteria used in promoting staff is their success on the sales floor, leading to complaints of internal selection unfairness.

Recent exit interviews suggest low morale, poor leadership, and lack of work/life balance as the top three reasons for leaving the company. Knowing that there are plans to launch two new product lines in the near future, the CEO has asked the HR director to search and find a new supplier to provide new employee orientation for all new sales staff. Twenty companies have submitted requests for proposals, and the CEO wants a short list to be presented in the next two days.

An applicant from a local competitor has offered to give the HR director information on the previous employer's salary and benefits upon hire. What action should the HR director take in response to this offer?

What is the ultimate function of executive management?

When would a return on investment (ROI) analysis be an effective metric?

Which recommendation should HR provide to assist an organization that wants a benefit plan that manages increased costs without sacrificing employee morale?

The HR department in a musical instrument company is struggling to support the company's rapid growth. The company, which started as the home business of a casual musician, logged $17 million in sales last year. The HR department has hired additional team members over the years but hasn't changed its structure since start-up. All HR team members currently function as generalists, doing whatever it takes to support the company.

The organization now consists of multiple store franchises. Each store has a sales department, a service and repair department, and a department offering music lessons. This initial product and service offering was followed by instrument rentals and later the acquisition of a publishing company that specializes in learning guides for new musicians and music teachers. The company's newest effort, the production of their own brand of mandolin, is recognized by most of the senior leaders as a high-risk effort but with the potential for a profitable high-margin instrument being added to their product line.

With the rapid growth and expansion, the CEO is becoming increasingly concerned about quality and has made it clear that the entire corporation is to prioritize quality and efficiency while maintaining focus on the strategic plan.

What is the best course of action the HR leader should take to determine how to structure the HR department to support the needs of the growing business?