Comprehensive Workforce Planning Report: Food Mart & Co Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of workforce planning for The Food Mart & Co., a small retail organization in Australia. It begins by outlining the organization's skill requirements, including effective communication, teamwork, and computer skills, along with relevant industrial relations characterized by positive employee-management relationships. The report then demonstrates forecasting techniques such as Delphi techniques and scenario analysis, addressing past performance issues. An oral presentation introduces The Food Mart & Co., highlighting its growth goals and the need for a skilled workforce plan. A major activity section details the company's background, market position, and financial data. It then delves into the current staff turnover and demographics, factors affecting workforce supply, and the organization's need for skilled employees. Objectives for workforce modification, turnover causes, and strategies for employee retention are discussed, along with diversity plans, strategies for sourcing skilled labor, and communication with stakeholders. The report also outlines established targets, organizational processes, contingency plans, and procedures, providing a detailed workforce plan for The Food Mart & Co.

Running head: MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Manage Workforce Planning
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING1
Table of Contents
Skills and Knowledge Activity:.................................................................................................2
Questions:...............................................................................................................................2
Choose an organization.......................................................................................................2
Outline the skill requirements of the organization..............................................................2
Outline the relevant industrial relations..............................................................................2
Demonstrate forecasting techniques for your chosen organization....................................3
Oral Presentation........................................................................................................................4
Major Activity............................................................................................................................6
Workforce Plan.......................................................................................................................7
Reference..................................................................................................................................20

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING2
Skills and Knowledge Activity:
Questions:
Choose an organization.
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.
Outline the skill requirements of the organization.
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 handlings1
 Prior experience in the field of retailing is an added advantage for an
individual joining.
Outline the relevant industrial relations.
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
1 D Hosken, L Olson & L Smith, "Do retail mergers affect competition? Evidence from grocery retailing",
in Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, vol. 27, 2017, 3-22.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING3
Mart & Co. The relationship between the employees and the management of the organization
has been positive and friendly till date.
Demonstrate forecasting techniques for your chosen organization.
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.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING4
Oral Presentation
Introduction: The Food
Mart & Co. is the new
attraction to the Australian
customers. This small
chain of retailers has been
emerging high in the field
of grocery ever since it
was established. With
more than 5 supermarket
outlets around the country,
The Food Mart & Co. has
been growing slowly.
Body: Originated in 2015,
the company aims to
emerge as one of the
successful chain of
suppliers of grocery within
a few years. The company
requires a work force plan
to make sure that it has a
skilled and knowledgeable
workforce that can meet
the strategic goals of the
company effectively in the
long run. Some of the
major goals of The Food
Mart & Co. are:
 Lower price rates

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING5
Major Activity
Company Portfolio
Company Name: The Food Mart & Co.
Background of the organization: Founded by Mr. Brown and Mr. Williams, The Food Mart & Co. started its
journey with only 50 employees at 2015.All the employees who joined the company was local people while most of
them in the group were fresh graduates with zero experience of work. Together with consistent efforts of the
employees of the organization, The Food Mart & Co. has been slowly developing in the retail sector. The company
started with a small store at 2015 and now ones 5 stores throughout the city of New South Wales. The employee
number has risen to 1700 and the company aims to flourish its business through the entire country within the next 5
years.
Address: 199 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000, Australia
Postal Code: 3644 Country: Australia Telephone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] Website: www.thefoodmart.co.in
Year established: 2015 Number of employees: 1700
Type of Organization: Supermarket, Grocery Type of business: Retail
Local Demand Supply
No. of Business 3 2
Estimated Sales (last 2 years) $500 annual sales/square foot $410 annual sales/square foot
Contact Person: Mr. K. Smith Designation: Store manager

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING6
Workforce Plan
1. Current Data on Staff Turnover and Demographics.
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 year2.
2. 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
market3.
3. 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
2 E Breugelmans & K Campo, "Cross-Channel Effects of Price Promotions: An Empirical Analysis of the Multi-
Channel Grocery Retail Sector", in Journal of Retailing, vol. 92, 2016, 333-351.
3 C, Annette, et al. "Productivity in the retail sector: Challenges and opportunities." Recuperado de http://www.
employment-studies. co. uk/system/files/resources/files/ukces0816d. pdf ,2016.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING7
enthusiastic professionals are needed in the workforce of the organization. Employees
with diverse skills and knowledges are required for increasing the organizations
productivity.
4. 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.
5. 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
organization4. 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.
Recommendations to minimize turnover includes
 Providing the employees good salaries and benefits
4 E Katsikea, M Theodosiou & R Morgan, "Why people quit: Explaining employee turnover intentions among
export sales managers", in International Business Review, vol. 24, 2015, 367-379.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING8
 Options of flexible schedule timings
 Offerings of performance feedbacks and incentives
 Making comfortable and fun filled work environment
 Bonus facilities and career progression opportunities
6. Objectives for retaining required skilled labor.
Tracking down the talent, recruitment of skilled and enthusiastic professionals and training
of the employees included in the workforce5. 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.
7. 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 heterogeneous6. 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 organization7.
5 L Men, "Strategic Internal Communication", in Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 28, 2014, 264-
284.
6 K Winkfield, C Flowers & E Mitchell, "Making the Case for Improving Oncology Workforce Diversity",
in American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book, vol. 37, 2017, 18-22.
7 Santora, J., et al., "Nonprofit executive succession planning and organizational sustainability: A preliminary
comparative study in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Russia, and the United States.". in Journal of Applied
Management and Entrepreneurshi,vol. 20.4,2015,66.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING9
Diversity Plan Setting Goals
Developing strategies and plans
Indicators and Actions
Implementing the plan in the workforce
Evaluating and measuring the results
8. 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
9. Communication with the stakeholders
Stakeholders are partners of the organization8. 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.
10. Organizational process.
8 C Tang et al., "Socialization Tactics of New Retail Employees: A Pathway to Organizational Commitment",
in Journal of Retailing, vol. 90, 2014, 62-73.
Established
Targets
Increase in the number of
employees and sales figure.
Goals

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING10 11. Contingency plans.
Contingency plans for 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 strategy9
 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
9 N Sahebjamnia, S Torabi & S Mansouri, "Integrated business continuity and disaster recovery planning:
Towards organizational resilience", in European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 242, 2015, 261-273.
Build reputation
Increase brand awareness Customers from both local
and other nations
Improve customer services Satisfactory and positive
customer feedbacks and
reviews
Enhance employee experience
Scheduled regular training and
certification for the employees in
the workforce

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING11
12. Procedure to action objectives for Training, Re-Deployment and Redundancy.
13. 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 opportunities10
 Providing effective training for all and preparing employees for upcoming job related
challenges.
The Growth Plan
10 Barak, Michalle E. Mor. “Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace” in Sage Publications,
2016.
Informing the
affected and
targeted
employees
about the
situation so that
they can search
for other
oppertunities
Giving the
employees a
formal notice
period
Ensuring
conditions for
redundancies in
employment are
compiled
Priving suitable
references
Providing
severance pay

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING12
14. Workforce diversity goals.
Strategies to meet the workforce diversity in the retail market:
Running a
Global
Business
Getting
Started
Getting
Ready-enetry
In The Local
Market
Flourishing
The Company
In The National
Market-brand
Recognition
International
Market Entry
International
Growth
Facilitation

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING13
Acknowledging the difference
Training for everyone
Mentoring new and high potential employees
Making flexible work arrangements
Providing oppertunities for growth
Empowering diverse teams tomeet strategic business
challenges
Sharing of the decision making procedure
Encouraging personal evaluation

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING14
15. Planning of the succession
16. 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.
Clarify The vision and
goals of the organization
Develop Business
Strategies and objectives
Identify leadership and
managerial requirements
Hiring skilled workforce
Evaluate organizational
growth and productivity
Critical skills and gap
analysis
Create development
process
Outlin and implement
workforce planning

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING15
17. 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.
18. 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 stress11
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.
19. Effects of labor trends on labor demands.
11 Karakaya, A, Y Kasım, & G Demiral. "Strategic Capabilities of Retail Market Managers: A Field Research in
Karabuk.". in Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 235,2016,93-100.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING16
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 industry12. 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.
20. Organizational climate and employer satisfaction.
Organizational climate depicts the experience of the employees regarding the culture of the
organization they are working with13. 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.
21. Recommendation and impact on Australia.
12 D Deming, "The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market", in The Quarterly Journal of
Economics, vol. 132, 2017, 1593-1640.
13 R Trinkner, T Tyler & P Goff, "Justice from within: The relations between a procedurally just organizational
climate and police organizational efficiency, endorsement of democratic policing, and officer well-being.",
in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, vol. 22, 2016, 158-172.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING17
Recommended changes:
 Right timing of services.
 Recognition and brand publicity
 Connecting with people and targeting the audience14
 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.
22. 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
market15. Policies are extremely important since this form the backbone of the retail company
and keep the business alive in the competitive market of retailing.
23. The tool to measure the effectiveness of change processes
14 Gray, J, & H Laidlaw. "Part-time employment and communication satisfaction in an Australian retail
organisation.". in Employee Relation, vol. 24.2,2002,211-228.
15 Katsikea, E, M Theodosiou, & R Morgan, "Why people quit: Explaining employee turnover intentions among
export sales managers.". in International Business Review, vol. 24, 2015, 367-379.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING18
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
organization16.
Environmental scanning is important for the organization since it will help the company to
analyze both the inside and outside environment of the organization17. 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
16 S Christina et al., "A socio-technical approach to improving retail energy efficiency behaviours", in Applied
Ergonomics, vol. 47, 2015, 324-335.
17 N Fabbe-Costes et al., "Sustainable supply chains: a framework for environmental scanning practices",
in International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 34, 2014, 664-694.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING19
Reference
Bailey, Janis, et al. "Union power in retail: Contrasting cases in Australia and New Zealand.".
in New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations (Online) 40.1,2015,1.
Barak, Michalle E. Mor. “Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace” in
Sage Publications, 2016.
Breugelmans, E, & K Campo, "Cross-Channel Effects of Price Promotions: An Empirical
Analysis of the Multi-Channel Grocery Retail Sector.". in Journal of Retailing, 92, 2016,
333-351.
Christina, S, P Waterson, A Dainty, & K Daniels, "A socio-technical approach to improving
retail energy efficiency behaviours.". in Applied Ergonomics, 47, 2015, 324-335.
Cox, Annette, et al. "Productivity in the retail sector: Challenges and
opportunities." Recuperado de http://www. employment-studies. co.
uk/system/files/resources/files/ukces0816d. pdf ,2016.
Deming, D, "The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market.". in The
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132, 2017, 1593-1640.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING20
Fabbe-Costes, N, C Roussat, M Taylor, & A Taylor, "Sustainable supply chains: a framework
for environmental scanning practices.". in International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 34, 2014, 664-694.
Gray, J, & H Laidlaw. "Part-time employment and communication satisfaction in an
Australian retail organisation.". in Employee Relations 24.2,2002,211-228.
Hosken, D, L Olson, & L Smith, "Do retail mergers affect competition? Evidence from
grocery retailing.". in Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 27, 2017, 3-22.
Jarvis, J Edward. “Strategies for improving first-line supervisor problem-solving abilities in
the retail supermarket industry.”. Diss. Walden University, 2016.
Karakaya, A, Y Kasım, & G Demiral. "Strategic Capabilities of Retail Market Managers: A
Field Research in Karabuk.". in Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 235,2016,93-100.
Katsikea, E, M Theodosiou, & R Morgan, "Why people quit: Explaining employee turnover
intentions among export sales managers.". in International Business Review, 24, 2015, 367-
379.
Men, L, "Strategic Internal Communication.". in Management Communication Quarterly, 28,
2014, 264-284.
Sahebjamnia, N, S Torabi, & S Mansouri, "Integrated business continuity and disaster
recovery planning: Towards organizational resilience.". in European Journal of Operational
Research, 242, 2015, 261-273.

MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING21
Santora, Joseph C., et al. "Nonprofit executive succession planning and organizational
sustainability: A preliminary comparative study in Australia, Brazil, Israel, Italy, Russia, and
the United States.". in Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 20.4,2015,66.
Tang, C, Y Liu, H Oh, & B Weitz, "Socialization Tactics of New Retail Employees: A
Pathway to Organizational Commitment.". in Journal of Retailing, 90, 2014, 62-73.
Trinkner, R, T Tyler, & P Goff, "Justice from within: The relations between a procedurally
just organizational climate and police organizational efficiency, endorsement of democratic
policing, and officer well-being..". in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22, 2016, 158-
172.
Winkfield, K, C Flowers, & E Mitchell, "Making the Case for Improving Oncology
Workforce Diversity.". in American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book, 37,
2017, 18-22.