Staffing Organizations

1. Identify the type of employment relationship you would establish between the coffee shop and its Employees, from a legal perspective. Explain your reasoning. In order to determine, from the legal perspective the type of relationship that needs to be establish between the business and its newly hired employees, it is imperative to understand what the definition and the significance of the term “Employee Relations.” The term “Employee Relations” is a very broad term that refers to the management, and planning activities that involve the developing, training and improving employees. These activities are accomplished by communicating with the employees through policies and regulations that advice the employee as well as the company’s leadership on topics such performance based actions, adverse actions. In addition, Labor Relations provide guidance such as alternative dispute resolution, reasonable accommodations, and appeal rights to include employee coverage and affirmative defenses. The type of labor relation I would establish between the Coffee Shop and its employees would have to be in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration.

It is important to establish this relationship by letting the employees know that the coffee shop adheres and complies with the laws and regulations provided by the Department of Labor, displaying the mandatory U.S. Department of Labor workplace posters that are required for small business, in this case, the coffee shop. It is imperative for coffee shop’s employees to know that they are fully cover under the Fair Labor Standards Act and their employee is running a business that is fully complying with all laws and regulations mandated by the Department of Labor. Creating a relationship between the employees and the coffee shop, from the legal point of view, is very important because it creates the sense of security and confidence employees need to feel comfortable in their work environment and shows them that their employer, in this case, the coffee shop, cares for them and that by following the law and regulations to ensure their well-being and their rights are always in consideration in the workplace.

2. Suggest ways that you could avoid claims of disparate treatment. Disparate impact relates to the hardship created by the discrimination and is often used in age discrimination lawsuits. Disparate impact relates to disparate treatment, and a wrongful termination lawsuit may claim that the impact or hardship created plays a role in the discrimination. A greater impact proven to a specific group such as women or older employees may impact your business as well. This is certainly lots of things the coffee shop must avoid in order to keep a good reputation and grow to be a successful business. The ways I would use to avoid disparate treatment claims would be to review federal and state laws on termination of an employee, these laws could include payday laws, by doing so, and the Shop will comply with all dates and rules. I would create checklists for the hiring, and termination of employees this practice will provide the business with continuity and, the most important thing: a way to show it. Having personnel files for each employee is a great way to have a place to record infractions, warnings, etc. It is critical to document the employee acknowledgement of receipt of each notification with a signature and a date. When a termination is in order, provide the employee with a warning before termination, the termination date must be showing on this letter.

The letter needs to outline, in facts, the reason the employee is being terminated and cover, as simply to read as possible, the events that will take place once the letter is acknowledge and received by the employee in question (last payday, modification in hours (if applicable), etc. 3. Identify the type of external influences that could hinder staffing and how you would address them. Delays in the staffing process are not rare. The reason(s), however, range in a variety of factors. In the case of the Coffee Shop, based on the fact that the positions we have the need to recruit and fill are non-executive level positions and the experience required is not as complex as it would be on an engineer, staffing should result in a fairly simple matter. Because the Coffee Shop is located close to a university campus, this is a great opportunity to recruit students that, perhaps, would like to have a part-time job during the weekend or days off. Another reason staffing could be delayed could be wages; how much will the shop pay, in an hourly basis, to a coffee server.

This is a big one; the way I would address this issue would be by creating a very attractive incentive package, which outlines the benefits package, days off, performance rewards, etc. I believe that this is one of the most influential tools the Shop would have at the starting face and can potentially attract enough candidates to make the hiring process better. 4. Create a plan that you can use to deal with employee shortages and surpluses. To deal with employee surpluses, and based on how many employees (hours of labor) I have as a surplus, First, I would offer time-off without pay, for the employees that have the need to have an extra day off, then, I would lower the hours of the part-time employees in an equal manner across the board, and then I would do the same for the full-time employees. It is needless to say that decreasing employee’s work hours is a hard thing to do for any business owner, at the same time, the owner must do what will benefit the business so that it will stay open and maintain its employees. When dealing with shortage of manpower is a situation a little easier to handle because more hours could be offered to employees in an effort to maintain the productivity of the shop. 5. Outline a strategy for workforce diversity. A diverse workforce is very important for any business to adapt to the always changing demographics. It is especially important for the coffee shop to embrace diversity given the location of the business.

My strategy would be first, to develop a hiring strategy to make your workforce resemble the community you operate in. Another easy practice to create a diverse workforce would be to ask existing employees for referrals. Last, but not least, talking to the community organizations to help find candidates. Provide diversity training in your workplace. Diversity training is a vital element of a diversity initiative and signifies the chance for the Coffee Shop, as the employer, to inform and educate the employees about diversity. The goal of diversity training is not only to create and increase awareness of workplace diversity, but also to grow and boost skills among employees to help them communicate more profoundly in the future.

Differences in race, sexual orientation, education and work experience can cause tremendous damage between employees and to the business as well. Diversity training has the ability to increase awareness, teach knowledge and educate employees further on how to accept differences among fellow employees. The most important goal of diversity training program is to make a positive work environment by assisting employees recognize and be accepting of differences among co-workers. 6. Conduct a job requirements job analysis for the store managers and coffee servers in order to identify tasks, KSAOs, and context for those positions. The identified tasks for the Store managers are:

* Oversee the daily operations of the café, ensuring all operations are consistent with our bookselling culture, world-class customer service focus and merchandising standards. * Select, evaluate and develop café servers.

* Foster an environment that is both employee-centric and customer-centric. * Focus on team development, maximizing sales and productivity, and providing outstanding customer service. The KSAs for this position are as follow:

* At least two years of management experience, preferably in a food or retail environment. * Strong analytical skills and knowledge of the competition to identify opportunities and drive sales. * Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to establish focused direction and execute the workload. * Work on the café selling floor, requiring physical activity. * Flexible schedule-our stores are open daily, which requires early morning, evening, weekend and holiday availability. The identified tasks and responsibilities for the Coffee servers are: * Prepare beverages to standards for speed, quality, and consistency with a high level of customer service. * Comply with standards for merchandising, stocking, and storing product. * Assists with cleaning, stocking and lifting items in other areas of the cafe as requested. * Welcomes and connects with every customer.

* Correctly follow all health, safety, and sanitation guidelines.
* Continually grows in knowledge of coffee and customers. KSAs for the Coffee Servers are:
* Must have cash handling experience.
* This position will spend 100% of time standing
* Environmental exposure to cold, heat and water
* Lift 25-50lbs
* Must be able to understand basic sanitation directions

Bibliography

Labor, U. D. (1980, May ). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/pls/epub/wageindex.download?p_file=F11973/WH1297.pdf Posters, R. L. (n.d.). Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/osdbu/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm Richard, L. (n.d.). Disparate Treatment for a Wrongful Termination. Retrieved from Houston Chronicle: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disparate-treatment-wrongful-termination-12965.html