ASSESSMENT- ROLE PLAY

It is now two months since the relocation of CERA to Bathurst was announced. A new headquarters in Bathurst has been leased and it is being fitted out. Mark French and Kellie Lincoln are leading the planning for the relocation, with support from Israel Tobin and the other managers. An outplacement firm, Taylor Cox, was retained soon after the relocation announcement to assist staff with finding alternative employment. They are providing support with resume preparation, interview preparation and sourcing suitable opportunities. Competitors of CERA have heard about the announcement and are actively seeking to recruit staff. Fortunately, the senior team is still intact and, seemingly, will relocate; however, at least one is unlikely to go and has made this known.

 At the moment, the staffing position falls into three categories: those who will relocate, those who definitely won't relocate, and those who are undecided. Taylor Cox has a counselling arm. CERA staff and their families have been encouraged to use this service to talk over their options in deciding whether to relocate to Bathurst. The biggest problem facing many of the staff is that they see their career opportunities in Sydney as very attractive and they worry that going to Bathurst will take them out of the loop in terms of professional networks and professional development. Several staff have bought property in Sydney and they are extremely nervous about selling up and moving to Bathurst, even though there are affordability and lifestyle benefits. The reality for these people is that they will probably never be able to return to the Sydney property market. A few have decided to commute to Bathurst, but Kellie Lincoln is sceptical about whether this would be realistic in the longer term. Israel's group have worked with Bathurst Regional Council's economic development people to put on two bus trips to Bathurst for staff who want to visit the city. Those who went on these trips were met by Council staff, and received presentations from local real estate agents, schools and other community leaders. There have been reports getting back to Israel about relationship difficulties and at least one marriage break-up. From what he has heard, Israel believes that a predominant cause is that partners who have their own careers in Sydney are reluctant or simply unwilling to give these up.

Partners are also unconvinced about whether the move to Bathurst and giving up their homes in Sydney is attractive. Pulse surveys of staff attitudes to the relocation have been conducted by a consulting firm. While some staff have responded positively to the relocation, many are angry or sceptical about the rationale and the promised benefits in liveability and access to their networks in Sydney. Some are worried that this is just the beginning of further relocations and there is a much greater lack of trust in the senior team than ever before. Regular newsletters are being sent to staff informing them of progress and a range of support services available, including financial assistance to relocate and to re-settle families. Israel's team has been working closely with the senior managers to track turnover and staff at risk of leaving. Staff turnover has been very high in some areas, and managers have had to bring in consultants, temporary staff and casuals/contractors, at significant cost, to fill the gaps or delay the completion of work. This is ok in the very short term, but clients will not be pleased if this continues. The levels of experience of these people, even the specialist consultants, is variable and the senior managers are having to check their work or fight fires when mistakes are made. Temporary parallel positions occupied by contractors and casuals have also been created as an interim measure to manage the risk of key staff leaving or to cover staff who have already given notice of their resignations. Trying to run business as usual and manage a major relocation is heavy going.

Recruitment has been underway almost since day one to replace staff who left quickly or to create permanent shadow arrangements for staff who have announced their intention to leave in the next six months. Aside from the cost of doing this, the loss of experience has been difficult to replace. In some cases, staff coming on board at short notice are just not at the level expected, but they are the best available who are willing to move to Bathurst. To make matters worse, there aren't enough experienced staff to train the new employees. The senior managers have had to do their own work plus help to train new staff. Not surprisingly, performance is suffering across the board. Even those staff who are looking forward to the move are distracted. Israel and Mark have been talking in private about how to use reward mechanisms to address some of the issues not just with performance, but with recruitment and with the relocation more generally. (What else can go wrong!)

Your task is to produce and present a powerpoint presentation of no more than seven slides to address the following:

1. Identify the HR issues in this scenario, covering human resource planning, recruitment, selection, performance management/reward and employee development in the workplace. Each member to produce one voice-over powerpoint slide covering her/his area of HR practice. The issues must be derived directly from the scenario, taking into account the company goals and HR history as provided throughout the subject

2. Work as a group to prepare a list of the top five HR issues - one for each area of HR practice - that require immediate action, and recommend what this action should be, with justification. The challenges here are: to determine a principle/s that you will use to prioritise the top five HR risks; and to devise recommendations for immediate action that are plausible to impact the issue, and practical to implement, taking into account the goals of the company and its HR history as provided throughout the subject. (Watch for interactions among the recommendations too.) The group should meet early to debrief the group process from the previous scenario and to agree on any changes to improve the quality of group working. Roles may be re-allocated, if the group wishes, to give members a broader role play experience. Subject to this, you could follow a similar process to the steps outlined above. Your work must demonstrate knowledge of relevant topics covered in the subject; however, it is not necessary to provide citations and references. The seven slides to be submitted and presented in class with notes pages or supporting information would consist of: • Five slides containing the work done by each of the group members • Up to two additional slides that set out the principle/s used to prioritise the HR issues submitted by group members; the consolidated set of the top five HR issues for immediate action; and the recommended immediate action, and justification. These two slides should follow this format. Principle/s used to prioritise the top five HR issues for immediate action HR Issue (covering all practice areas) Immediate action & justification

1. Human resource planning

2. Recruitment

3. Selection

4. Performance management/reward

5. Employee development in the workplace

Who have announced their intention to leave in the next six months. Aside from the cost of doing this, the loss of experience has been difficult to replace. In some cases, staff coming on board at short notice are just not at the level expected, but they are the best available who are willing to move to Bathurst. To make matters worse, there aren't enough experienced staff to train the new employees. The senior managers have had to do their own work plus help to train new staff. Not surprisingly, performance is suffering across the board. Even those staff who are looking forward to the move are distracted. Israel and Mark have been talking in private about how to use reward mechanisms to address some of the issues not just with performance, but with recruitment and with the relocation more generally. (What else can go wrong!)

This is the current staffing picture in CERA.