Person Responding To: Linda SmithPosting of Student Responding To:
Thank you for your insightful post Linda. I agree that a needs analysis is important. It is good to have this to determine the gaps that exist, see any changes that need to made, and probably new posts to introduce. Your idea about assessing the stores as a group instead of assessing individual stores is also great. In addition to the reasons you have provided, I could add that when the workforce is assessed a whole, other advanced worker can be transferred to impact or offer training to the others.
I do agree with you that task oriented analysis would be the most appropriate since a chain of stores has varied roles of staff including a lot of manual labor and unskilled work. It is therefore appropriate to use task analysis in this case. Task analysis considers responsibilities, duties and functions (Robinson, n.d).
You have provided an interesting and quiet elaborate analysis and human resource plan. May I add that a good human resource plan does not only forecast what is to be achieved and in what amount of time, but, a good strategy determines exactly what kind of human resource is needed, the number and the roles that they will play (Reilly,2003). For the stores’ human resource plan to be effective, the consultant will need to assess the growth forecast, business strategy and the goals of the business in order to come up with an objective plan. This may call for consultative engagement with other stakeholders.
References
Reilly, P. (2003). Guide to Workforce Planning in Local Authorities, Employers Organization or Local Government, London.Robinson, M. "What is Job Analysis?" (PDF). Institute of Work Psychology. Retrieved Feb 12, 2016.
