Brief Business Profile
Small businesses often underestimate the importance of HR management or do not have sufficient funds for its effective organization. This leads to substantial gaps in HR policies and procedures, though they are “a cornerstone of success for small business” (McAuliffe, 2005). The presented project concerns a local bakery. It has two major product lines: breads and pastries (cakes and pies). Most clientele emerges from the local community. Clients from other parts of the city are rare. This bakery is a family-owned business. Apart from the owner, there are two groups of staff: employees that bake (two shifts of four bakers) and sales personnel (two employees). The owner and his son fulfill most of the administrative functions, except for accounting which is done through outsourcing. The business’ location puts it into direct competition with another local bakery and the similar proposition at a big supermarket nearby. For the future, the main objectives are to increase sales by 50% and build greater customer loyalty. If those goals are successfully achieved, the owner would like to open a second bakery.
Survey Report
In order to determine the HR needs for the next 12 months, key stakeholders have been surveyed. In this case, they include the owner and his son and all of the employees. The survey has been developed specifically for this project and is based on the knowledge gained in this course. It was conducted in a face-to-face manner. It consisted of two parts. The first one aimed to assess a correlation between the current product demand and the ability of current staff to meet it; the second one contained questions about the views of the owners and employees on how the developmental direction of the business will be supported with HR management in the future. Here is a summary of the current HR processes and the results of the survey. Current policies and procedures cover two areas: recruitment (linking qualification to job requirements) and working standards (safety, compliance with the technology of baking, etc.). However, they are not codified, though it is one of the important success factors in HR management, according to Troilo and Carson (2011). The first survey outcome consists in an immediate need to recruit a HR specialist for increased productivity and enhanced control. Secondly, it has been determined that there is a need to hire an additional employee for the morning shift of the baking staff. Thirdly, greater specialization among the bakers has to be introduced for higher efficiency. Fourthly, the current recruitment and selection processes are shaped solely by the owner and are non-systemic. Fifthly, the HR policies and procedures are not comprehensive and are vague from the employee viewpoint.
HR Plan
The current HR situation at the bakery needs improvement. One of the key specialists, the HR manager, is missing, while his functions are not properly fulfilled by the business owner. The policies and procedures need to be improved in several directions. First of all, the recruitment policies should be supported with the clear selection procedures and …