INTRODUCTION

            In the modern era, effective management of human resources has become very crucial for the overall development of a business enterprise. Furthermore, employees are considered as one of the most valuable asset of any organization (Akingbola, 2013). Nowadays, strategic plans are being developed by companies to manage their human resources and accomplish their business objectives.

The present research report consists of three different parts which are assessment one, two and three. The first assessment is based on Bounce Fitness which is a fitness club that offers personal training services to the people living in Cairns areas. The key elements covered in assessment one includes analysis of Bounce fitness staffing requirements, planning and consultation, a human resources strategic plan and the process of implementation.

In the second assessment, a comparison of human resource strategic plan has been carried out. Finally, the third assessment is based on Coffeeville which is a small coffee shop based in Melbourne. The key areas covered in the third part include research on planning requirements, development of human resource strategic plan and implementation of the plan within Coffeeville.  

ASSESSMENT TASK 1

Part A

A. Assessment of Strategic plan document

            From the information presented in strategic document plan, it has been analyzed that Bounce Fitness has developed different strategic objectives and these will help the brand in its long term growth (Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, & Saks, 2015). For example, its strategic plan includes objectives such as maintaining the existing position in the marketplace, opening a new branch of the fitness center in Perth, increasing the training and development programs for staff, enhancing the relationship with customers, etc.

It can be stated that the goals and targets developed are SMART and will affect the overall development of all staff members in both positive and negative sense. In positive terms, the goals will provide specific direction to the employees working in Bounce Fitness. In addition to this, it will also assist staff members in achieving higher personal and professional growth. However, it can be critically argued that the staff members will be required to invest lots of time and efforts to accomplish all the targets (Alfes, Shantz, Truss, & Soane, 2013).

B. Research on emerging practices and trends

            On the basis of information presented within the business plan developed by Bounce Fitness, it can be stated that the use of life coaching, health approach, personal training, etc. is increasing among people in the market. Furthermore, the customers’ wants that the trainers should understand their health needs and should provide efficient training to satisfy those needs. However, the labor market trends are not satisfactory and skilled, and qualified instructors are not easily available (Beardwell & Thompson, 2014). In addition to this, the selected business enterprise will be also required to make use of advanced technology at the time of providing training and health related services to all its potential customers. It will help in developing a sense of satisfaction among clients as with the help of technology, and the business will be able to deliver fast and accurate services. It has been found that the demand for qualified trainers is increasing among people in the market and it will be required by Bounce Fitness to satisfy the same.

C. Staffing requirement in future

            On the basis of findings, it can be asserted that in future, Bounce Fitness will be required to hire highly skilled and qualified trainers to meet its business objectives. In future, the company will be required to hire at least 25 trainers. The instructors must possess effective communication skills and should be able to understand the need of clients. Further, certificate such as IV in exercise or fitness, CPR certificate Level 1 and registration with fitness Australia is must. In order to obtain these people Bounce Fitness will be using strategies such as an advertisement in newspapers and social Medias (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). In addition to this, the reference from existing employees will be also encouraged to meet the future staff needs.

Part B.  Planning and consultation

       After carrying out the analysis of Bounce Fitness existing business objectives, strategies and performance, a human resource strategic plan has been developed for future improvements. It can be asserted that the fitness center needs to focus on professional development of its staff members. Here, training linked with enhancement of existing communication skills of trainers can be imparted. It will help the employee to understand customer requirements and deliver more satisfactory services (Brewster, Houldsworth, Sparrow, & Vernon, 2016). At present, Bounce Fitness has developed objectives such as increasing sales by 10% annually, increasing market penetration, lowering down the cost of customer acquisition by 4% in every two quarters etc. The staff members are required to adhere to values such as team work, integrity, diversity and strong coordination to meet all the developed objectives. The time from 6:30 to 8:30 in morning and evening can be termed as the busiest time in gym and the schedule of staff members is going to be very hectic during these times. Apart from this, winters and monsoon are the quite time of the year whereas summers are considered as busiest.  

            It is required by the management to ensure that equal opportunities for growth and development are offered to each and every staff members. Further, adequate measure linked with first aid, health and safety of both trainers and clients should be taken into consideration. Anti discrimination policy, equal pay and principle of equality needs to be the integrated part of Bounce Fitness overall business practices (Brewster, Mayrhofer, & Morley, 2016). The performance management tools such as job descriptions, skill gap analysis, feedback system etc. are required to be implemented within the business. In context of remuneration, it can be expressed that Bounce Fitness is required to offer monetary and non- monetary incentives to all employees against the performance delivered. A fair and transparent scheme of remuneration should be used to that the trainer remains satisfied, motivated and business objectives can be achieved easily.

            In order to retain staff members, different motivational tools and techniques are required to implement within Bounce Fitness. Here, appreciation and recognition of employees in front of others can be used. The succession planning will be based entirely on the performance and results delivered by trainers in the center. However, it can be critically argued that lack of growth opportunities, low pay, lengthy work timings, ineffective leadership are some constrains which can affect the future productivity of staff members (Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014). It is suggested that performance based pay, democratic leadership style and open door policy can be used to deal with above mentioned constraints.

Meeting notes

·         Improvement in communication skills of employees are required

·         Summers are the busiest time of year

·         Anti-discrimination practices and equality needs to be integrated within business practices of Bounce Fitness

·         All measure related to health and safety of members and clients needs to be taken (Chelladurai & Kerwin, 2017)

·         Retention will be done through motivational tool

Part C - Developing human resource strategic plan

Strategic objectives for the agreed plan

·         To hire 25 qualified and experienced trainers within next one year.

·         To enhance the existing communication and relationship building skills within next 6 months (Jamali, El Dirani, & Harwood, 2015)

·         To reduce the rate of employee turnover by 10% in every quarter

Development of the plan

            In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, an effective human resource plan has been developed. Aggressive advertisement on social media and newspaper will be done to attract new trainers. At the same time, reference from existing employee will be also encouraged to recruit the desired number of staff (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall, & Rigsbee, 2013). Furthermore, training and development programs will be conducted on every weekend between 1:30 to 4:00 pm to enhance the skill set of workers. To retain the workers, open door policy and attractive incentive schemes will be used. 

            It can be stated that Bounce Fitness will be required to invest huge amount of financial resources in job advertisement and training of its employees (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). However, it can be critically argued that the plan will provide benefit in long run against the money which will be invested. It will help in increasing the membership and profitability of the business.

 Part D implementation and review

              In order to implement the plan and get the desired outcomes, the company will be developing a team of responsible personnel’s. The individuals in team will be responsible for carrying out advertisement and promotion of the vacant positions. In addition to this, the team will also working with trainers to identify weaknesses of the staff members and overcome the same. The team developed will be also working with other employees to identify different types of incentives which can motivate the staff members (Kramar, 2014). Further, based on the information collected, an attractive incentive plan will be adopted and implemented within one month.

            The monitoring and review of plan will be also taken care by the team of personnel’s. Here, 360 degree feedback system will be used to monitor the plan. Apart from this, rate of employee turnover and customer satisfaction will be analyzed to review the plan. The management and team developed will be responsible to make changes within Bounce Fitness.

            It can be evaluated that the strategic human resource plan will be effective as it is based on the overall objectives of the business. Apart from this, it will help in enhancing the knowledge base and skill set of workers (Marler & Fisher, 2013). However, it can be critically argued that the major challenges which HR working in Bounce Fitness will face are linked with change management. It might be possible that some workers resist to adopt changes and this can have negative impact on the overall plan implemented. To deal with this challenge, it can be asserted that the need and benefits of change will be communicated effectively to all staff members so that there corporation can be received. 

ASSESSMENT TASK 2

A. Description of HR strategy of University of Western Australia

            It can be stated that the HR strategy adopted by University of Western Australia is effective enough to contribute in long term growth and success. The rationale behind this is the plan focuses on encouraging ethical behavior and professional standards in overall working. In addition to this, adequate learning environment is also offered to employees for their personal and professional growth (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly, & Kynighou, 2016). However, it can be critically argued that the University of Western Australia is facing issues linked with flexible employment, retention of staff and managing diversity at workplace. To deal with the identified issues, the university has introduced new plan and has carried out certain changes in its overall HR strategy.   

B. How HR strategy support the business plan

            The existing HR strategy can be termed as appropriate enough to meet business objectives and support the business plan. Here, the university’s objectives are to offering highest quality of HR expertise, develop sustaining relationship, benchmarking its services at international level etc. The new plan lays emphasis on retaining staff, offering continuous learning, developing a support work culture and encouraging diversity at workplace. All these practices will support in developing sense of satisfaction among staff members and will also encourage them to give their best towards success of University of Western Australia. All these practices are potential enough to provide competitive advantage to the University and contribute in its long term growt (Morgeson, Aguinis, Waldman, & Siegel, 2013)h. The new strategic human resources plan is also effective because it covers various strategies to deal with the issues which University of Western Australia was facing during 1999-2001. 

C. Examining both the strategic plans

            On the basis of comparison carried out of both the strategic human resource plan, it can be stated that the improved plan is more effective as compared to the old plan of University of Western Australia. The objective of previous plan was to develop and implement best human resource practices within the university. However, the plan was not effective because it resulted in developing various issues in front of business. For example, it has almost become impossible for the University to manage diversity, carry out skill development and offer flexible employment (Peppard & Ward, 2016). However, the new plan is engage and carry out best human resource practices which can directly contribute in the success of university. The targets of previous plan were adequate but the strategy adopted to achieve those targets was not at all satisfactory. In the new plan, effective strategies are being developed to deal with HR related issues and it will also assist in achieving higher degree of employee satisfaction. 

D. Development of strategic objectives

By comparing strategic plan 1991-2001 and 2016-2019 it has been identified that strategic objectives in both the plans differ from each other. In the older version main stress was on delivering high quality professional service, transparent system for bringing improvement in the university etc. Further, complex framework has been employed for conducting business operations. The range of strategies undertaken involves providing human resource with developmental programs so that they can meet university needs. On the other hand in newer version focuses on providing support to the strategic leadership of the university. Along with this, the key HR services undertaken involves appointment, salary related payments, employee self service etc. The development of strategic plan in the new version was mainly focused on human resource (Paillé, Chen, Boiral, & Jin, 2014).

E. Analyze internal and external factors

Internal and external factors in the old version involves new technology, financial constraint, competitive environment, recruitment related issues, inability of employees to conduct operations etc. On the other hand, factors in case of new version involve political issue, work life balance challenge, complex legal framework, ineffective leadership, trust and commitment. So, all these factors have encouraged for the development and review of the policies.

F. Legal and Technological requirements

Legal along with the technological barriers had direct impact on the HR plan. Legal barrier is in the form of policies such as health and safety, equity and diversity, equal opportunity etc (Reiche, Mendenhall, & Stahl, 2016). These practices have to be followed by the company. Apart from this, technological barrier where new tools have to be employed such as in case of skill development the rapid use of information technology, for flexible employment enterprise bargaining as one of the tool is appropriate. So, this influenced the entire HR plan and it became necessity to adopt new tools.

G. Goals and objectives

In the HR plan 2016-2019 key goals and objectives are as follows:

·         Retaining and recruiting high quality staff

·         Employment flexibility

H. HR policies and values

Values

·         High performance culture

·         Continuous improvement through self evaluation

Policy

·         Equitable working environment

·         Family and friendly environment for staff

ASSESSMENT TASK 3

PART A

Analysis of strategic plans

Coffeeville offers wide range of coffee to its target market with the help of its café. Firm has adopted effective talent management policy which considers strong commitment towards designing and executing integrated approach for the effective management of human resources. Main focus is on recruiting the right talent so that customers can be served in better manner within the café. The key objectives along with targets of Coffeeville involve enhancing customer base, working for the development of staff, retaining right talent etc. Strategic plan of business involves supporting communities on a global scale by sourcing a range of fair trade coffees (Purce, 2014). Coffeeville focuses on developing friendly environment along with team oriented working community.

Environmental analysis  

Considering the environmental analysis the overall trends have direct impact on human resource management within Coffeeville. Changing skill requirement is one of the major trend where every business needs skilled workforce. Coffeeville requires skilled labor for serving different type of café and other items in its café. This can support in attracting customers. Workforce diversity is another type of trend where every individual differ from each other in the form of age, sex, religion, custom, values etc. So, for managing employees different approaches need to be considered (Sparrow, Brewster, & Chung, 2016). Continuous improvement program where Coffeeville focuses on quality and develops a foundation for serving customers through assistance of workforce. So, these are some of the key trends.

Future labor need

For smooth functioning of business operations Coffeeville needs to hire more employees where to serve large number of customer’s skilled workforce is needed. Skill requirement involves active listening, problem solving, time management, customer service, coordination, management of personnel resources and teamwork. Employees who are having all these type of skills are needed within the workplace. Further, option for sourcing labor supply is also present with Coffeeville where company can rely on other outside recruitment agencies that can assist in delivering skilled workforce and can meet growing demand for workforce (Sheehan, 2014).

New technology

The advanced tool such as Information Technology has direct influence on the job design and job role. Further, through this tool Coffeeville can design duty along with responsibility of staff member. Moreover, proper role can be allocated considering the overall capabilities. Apart from this, modern machines have reduced efforts required in conducting operations such as coffee making machines where employee is not required to do any manual work. So, contribution of new technology has supported workforce in carrying out their assigned tasks in proper manner (Storey, 2014).

Industrial and Legal Requirement

The changes which have been taken place in industrial requirement involves demand for skilled workforce where every café and other type of businesses need talented workforce that can manage business operations and are efficient enough in serving customers. Further, technological change has taken place in the industry where modern tools are adopted like for preparing coffee and other technique that can assist workforce. Considering legal requirement laws have been developed for labor welfare such as anti discrimination practice, wage, equal opportunity etc. Main motive is to safeguard interest of employees so that they may not be exploited.

PART B

Human resource values and policies

The strategic human resource plan of Coffeeville will support business in managing its workforce. Further, the philosophy will be based on leadership style where democratic style will be adopted so that employee can participate for the betterment of café. Apart from this, human resource policy will undertake incentive scheme, overtime pay, and share in decision making, growth opportunity and other form of allowance (Wheelen & Hunger, 2017). Further, the human resource value will focus on satisfying requirement of every employee and considering them to be integral part of the business. Values will involve appreciation and recognition of employees.

Objective for human resource service

Below are some of the effective targets developed for Coffeeville in its human resource plan:

·         Enhancing performance of every employee within the workplace and setting KPI

·         Building effective recruitment strategies for hiring skilled employee

·         Designing training sessions for customer service

·         Undertaking motivational tools for betterment of staff

·         Building high performance culture

·         Promoting diversity, flexibility and innovation

·         Promoting safe and healthy environment

Provision of human resource services

Various options are present with Coffeeville which business can undertake in relation with human resource services. First one is taking assistance from outside parties whose main benefit involves high quality service and the disadvantage involves it increases cost of the business (Wright, Coff, & Moliterno, 2014). Second one is internal human resource provision of the service where it is possible for Coffeeville to utilize its own workforce where main benefit is that it can save cost associated with obtaining service from outside and somehow development of employees can take place and this option has no such cost.

Required technology

In order to support the human resource strategy linked with development of workforce the technology required is Information Technology system. With the help of this system effective information and knowledge can be shared with the human resource. Apart from this, e-recruitment software can be adopted for analyzing skill level of the employee and the best individual can be hired. This technology can save time and cost of the Coffeeville.

Risk management plan

In order to support the strategic human plan risk management plan is must through which major risks associated with the business can be tackled. The plans which follow stages mentioned below:

·         Identifying the risk

·         Determining the options for risk mitigation

·         Selecting the option

·         Implementation

·         Monitoring and Review

For instance, if Coffeeville has applied modern technology for delivering training to the workforce and this plan has failed then the company will be required to invest more resources. So, in advance, such risks can be identified where more time can be allocated.

PART C

Plan implementation

The strategic human resource plan will be implemented through the assistance of employees. Further, staff members will be given the overview regarding the plan by highlighting the key benefits which are associated with their development (Beardwell & Thompson, 2014).

Implementation plan will undergo various stages within Coffeeville which are as follows:

·         Communicating goals of the strategic HRM plan which involves development of human resource within Coffeeville

·         Identifying the range of managerial tasks to be performed which involves internal analysis of company and resistance to change issues

·         Assigning tasks to various departments such as service department, managers

·         Delegating authority

·         Preparation of budget and resource allocation which involves time, cost etc.

·         Formulating work plan and procedures

Monitor and Review the plan

For effective monitoring and review, every staff will identify the outcome of the plan implemented. In case if training program has been initiated within the workplace then it will be analyzed whether knowledge and skill level of employee has been enhanced or not (Child, 2015). Apart from this, all the activities are conducted in the period decided or not. Monitoring will be done only by managers after implementing the plan, and it will be ensured whether all the resources are utilized efficiently or not (Jamali, El Dirani, & Harwood, 2015). Apart from this, the plan will be reviewed on the monthly basis whether all the key areas undertaken have been modified efficiently or not. For monitoring and review staff within Coffeeville will be delivered training.

Change in circumstance

In case if circumstance change at Coffeeville then in such case HR strategic plan will be adopted by encouraging employees to become an integral part of it. Further, it will be communicated that adoption of this plan can lead to employee development at the faster pace. Apart from this, managers working within Coffeeville will be responsible for the change as they possess capability to manage individuals and this can directly contribute to the success of the business.

Success and failure of HR strategic plan

The HR strategic plan implemented within the business is quite successful which has allowed Coffeeville to work for the development of its workforce and they can be managed easily. Success is in the form of rising in skill and knowledge level where employees are actively participating in the business affairs (Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, & Saks, 2015). Apart from this, failure has been witnessed in the form of employee resistance to change where staff members are not accepting the change. The major HR challenge faced by Coffeeville involves inappropriate skill and knowledge of employees, lack of growth opportunities and ineffective training programs (Garvey, Stokes, & Megginson, 2014). The opportunities present with business involves hiring skilled employees and working on the development of the existing workforce.

CONCLUSION

From the entire study, it can be concluded that the strategic human resource management is essential for the overall success of a business enterprise. Strategic plan prepared for Bounce fitness and Coffeeville focuses on providing training to employees to ensure better productivity and performance. Apart from this, in the second part differences have been identified in the HR plans of the University of Western Australia. It can be inferred that the newly developed plan of the university is more effective as it focuses on technology along with skill development of the workforce.