A staffing plan for Red, White and Blue Fireworks Company
A staffing plan for Red, White, and Blue Fireworks Company (RWBFC) is offered above. To meet the constraints stated in the case study, namely ten working hours per day, seven days a week with a minimum of 20 employees participating in the working process every day, the staffing plan is based on the principle of the 4/10 (four days, 10-hour shifts) for each employee which is considered to be a specific method for placing working schedules itself (Liebert, 2008). But, an employer demands one more condition, to keep employees fresh and ready to work they should have three uninterrupted days off. Four working days, 10-hour shifts, and consecutiveness of days off make it possible for us to use one more scheduling method, consecutive days off (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquilano, 2006). This method is chosen specifically for the company as an employer demanded one person to work ten hours a day with three consecutive days off in a week, with the minimum employment of 20 people a day. The combination of these principles allows the company to avoid split shifts and part-time employment, which is highly undesired. Thus, the staffing plan table presented above is based on two scheduling methods, 4/10 and consecutive days off.
The working days and days off for each person are going to be stable. Different people will have different consecutiveness of days off, like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Thus, a stable schedule with consecutive days off is a beneficial method for manufacturing 7 days a week without interpreting. This is the best variant for improving manufacturing productivity and satisfying employees’ needs.
Thomas P. Bechet (2008) gives a piece of advice about how a new staffing plan should be implemented from the point of view of an employer. First, an employer should understand the long-term advantages of the step. It should be remembered that many difficulties are going to appear within a short term period. Second, the requirements and availability of the staff should be defined. In other words, an employer should evaluate whether the existing number of people is enough for the new schedule or additional human resources should be involved. Third, the plan, according to which a change is going to be provided, should be considered. An employer should develop a scheme according to which a new working schedule will be applied and how employees should be informed about it. The final step is the implementation of the staffing plan. The employer uses these steps in this case. But, the employees’ should be differently prepared for the change of the working schedule.
The assignment of the employees to the different schedule is a very complicated task as some employees may feel dissatisfaction with a new plan they will have to work following. Before announcing employees about the necessity to change the working schedule, the employer or his/her representative should state the problems the company experiences and the necessity for those changes. It is important to dwell upon the advantages each employee is going to experience (3 consecutive days off per week in this case). Moreover, an employer may allow the workers to choose the days they want to have rest. It is impossible to meet all employees’ requirements, still, RWBFC should do their best o satisfy the requirements of their workers.
Considering the concerns an employer may face with the implementation of this new staffing plan, it is possible to state that the company should employ 35 employees which can meet the demand the company applies to them. RWBFC may announce additional hiring if the necessary number of employees is not met. When one employee falls ill, RWBFC may face a dilemma. The company should either accept that 19 people are working or to replace a sick employee with the one who has a day off. This may lead to the fact that an employee is going to be tired too soon and to the overtime work in one week. It is necessary to consider this problem beforehand and make an agreement about whether employees make deals within a staff or the manager should settle this problem each time it appears. Another concern RWBFC may face is human dissatisfaction. Some people may refuse to work on Sundays. Some employees must have a day off on Sunday; others may meet this news with delight. It should b noted that the very transition from one schedule to another one may arouse difficulties as some people will have to work on Saturday and Sunday after 5 days working week. Thus, this transition should b provided on Monday after days off.
It is possible to conclude that RWBFC managers should communicate with their employees before implementing a new working schedule into life. Much attention should be paid to the conflicts at the beginning of the work under new conditions. Human resource managers should interfere and solve the problems, especially if they are connected with innovation.
Reference List
Bechet, T. P. (2008). Strategic staffing: a comprehensive system for effective workforce planning. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N. J. (2006). Operations management for competitive advantage. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Liebert, D. (2008). Staffing Analysis Workbook for Jails (2nd Ed. ). Darby, PA: DIANE Publishing.