You have been newly recruited to the role of HR Manager in a 150-person factory producing facings for kitchen equipment located in the outskirts of London.

It's the first time a qualified HR Manager has been appointed (there are two other people in the HR department who are primarily Personnel Admin clerks).

You have been asked by the CEO to develop an HR strategy for the company, since it is facing critical staff turnover and industrial relations issues. The CEO has asked you to produce an initial report within one week outlining your proposals for improving HR processes.

However, as you beginning to prepare your thoughts on the subject, you are interrupted by a one of your assistants who suggests that ‘something is happening' in the Maintenance Department which needs your attention.

You decide that you'll use this opportunity to help you develop your ideas for the HR strategy report.....

Using the case study as the starting point, prepare a report to the CEO outlining your proposals.

Charlie Case Study

Charlie had just returned to the office after a week away with the ‘flu. He was not well yet, but came back anyway because he was worried about some urgent wok he had left unfinished. Charlie was conscientious like that.

He asked his foreman, Fred, if anything had happened whilst he had been away. Fred described a mini-industrial relations crisis with the maintenance engineers - one of them had not completed his time sheets, and when Fred had asked him to do so, the man went to the Trade Union Representative with a complaint. Not sure of the procedure, Fred had let the matter drop, awaiting Charlie's return.

Fred also said that Glynis - Charlie's secretary - had not been particularly helpful. She appeared remarkably knowledgeable when asked direct questions, but had not volunteered any information. Charlie agreed that he himself had appreciated Glynis' encyclopaedic knowledge about everyone, but that she was rather ‘grumpy'.

Charlie asked Fred about the new trainee, Kevin. Fred said that Kevin had not complained, so he was probably alright. Charlie asked where Kevin was, but Fred didn't know.

Charlie returned to his desk and looked for the urgent report he had left unfinished a week before. Ah, there it was! He found it under some customer complaints about the maintenance engineers and a rude memo from his boss about the delayed report. On the top of the pile was an envelope containing Glynis' resignation.

Charlie called Glynis into his office and asked her why she was leaving. She told him that she was fed up with the dead-end job and fed up with applying for internal vacancies she was never appointed to. Although he had never recommended her for another job, as she was so valuable to him, Charlie said he was very sorry to hear she was leaving - he had no idea she felt so strongly. Glynis retorted that there was a lot Charlie did not know about, including the ‘cheeky trainees who smoked funny stuff in the toilets'. When Charlie asked her why the experienced Fred had done nothing about it, Glynis replied that Fred could not be expected to do everything, especially ‘considering the difficulties he had at home'. With that cryptic remark, she flounced out of the room.

Charlie shrugged his shoulders and started on his pile of work. Deciding to polish off the easy items first, he disposed quickly of a request to bid for his annual training budget - it was already late, but after all, there was only the trainees' college fees to claim for. And the customer complaints could be filed to deal with later. A quick memo to Personnel to ask for a replacement for Glynis. That was the immediate stuff done.

Length : 1500 - 2000 words.