AltoWear (AW) is a family-owned clothing business with eight shops in one city. AW’s objective is to increase online sales while maintaining its reputation for personalized customer service in its shops. AW has recently hired a marketing manager to develop its website, but the owner, Lena, has not involved the human resource manager in the planning. Many shop assistants have strong relationships with customers, but few have experience using online order systems or social media selling. Some employees are worried that online sales will reduce the need for shop staff. Labour turnover has increased, and several creative employees have left to work for larger fashion retailers that offer career development and flexible working arrangements. Lena believes that HRM is mainly concerned with recruitment and payroll, and that marketing decisions are more important for AW’s future.

PurePack (PP) is introducing new machinery to produce biodegradable packaging. Some machine operators are resisting the change because they fear they do not have the skills to use the machinery. The HR manager is considering a training programme.

The following estimates are available for the first year.

BentoBox (BB) prepares fresh lunches for offices. BB has grown quickly because more employees in the city are returning to work in offices three days a week. BB’s directors want to open a second kitchen next year and offer evening delivery. The HR manager has identified several influences on human resource planning. Internally, BB has limited cash flow after purchasing new kitchen equipment, and supervisors say the existing kitchen teams are already working at full capacity. BB’s food safety standards require careful training. Externally, unemployment in the city is low, immigration rules for hospitality workers have become stricter, and many potential employees prefer flexitime or gig economy delivery work rather than permanent kitchen jobs. BB is considering using more part-time workers and freelance delivery riders to meet fluctuating demand.

SwiftServe Logistics (SSL) is a private limited company providing same-day delivery services for online retailers. SSL has won two new grocery delivery contracts starting next year. The operations director wants SSL to keep its promise of 98 % on-time deliveries. The HR manager is preparing a human resource plan and is considering two options.

Option 1: Recruit 25 additional permanent drivers and introduce flexitime for evening and weekend shifts. All new drivers would receive two days of induction and customer service training.

Option 2: Recruit 5 permanent driver-supervisors and use gig economy drivers for peak demand. Gig economy drivers would use their own vehicles and would receive only online instructions.

The following information is available.

The local unemployment rate is low and new immigration rules are expected to reduce the supply of experienced delivery drivers.

Novelle Cinemas (NC) operates 18 cinemas in large cities. NC has experienced falling profits because more customers are using streaming services at home. To reduce queues and labour costs, NC plans to introduce self-service ticket gates and a new mobile ordering system for snacks. Many ticket-office employees are resisting the change. They fear job losses, loss of status and not having the skills to use the new system.

NC is considering two HR strategies for implementing the change.

Option A: Rapid implementation in all cinemas within six weeks. Employees would complete a one-hour online training module. Ten ticket-office employees would be made redundant immediately and 30 would be redeployed as customer hosts.

Option B: Phased implementation over six months. Employees would be involved in planning the new customer-host role. Each affected employee would receive six hours of face-to-face training. NC would negotiate with employee representatives about voluntary redundancy and flexible working.

The following estimates are available for assessing the first year. The wage-cost-saving figures are annualized amounts expected once each option is fully implemented, rather than actual cash savings received in the first year.

NC's brand is positioned as a premium cinema experience, not a low-cost cinema chain.

PrecisionMed Components (PMC) manufactures small parts for medical devices. Its customers are demanding shorter delivery times and fewer defects. To remain competitive, PMC’s operations director proposes reorganizing production into multi-skilled teams and introducing a new quality-tracking system. The change would require machine operators to learn new tasks, share responsibility for quality, and record production data throughout each shift. Some experienced operators believe the new system will be used to blame them for defects. Others worry that multi-skilled teams will remove their specialist status. A trade union representative says employees were informed too late and that the change is being introduced during PMC’s busiest season. The HR manager has proposed three strategies: early two-way communication meetings, paid training with mentoring, and a phased implementation starting with one production line.

HelioPharm (HP) manufactures wearable health monitors and provides online technical support in two overseas subsidiaries, Country X and Country Y. HP wants to introduce an AI-based scheduling and performance analytics system for its technical support employees. The system would allocate tasks automatically, monitor response times and recommend staffing levels. Senior management wants to use one global HR strategy: an email announcement, a two-hour online training session and full implementation in four weeks.

The HR director is concerned that employees in the two countries may respond differently. A previous software change at HP was poorly communicated and employees were promised training that was not fully delivered.

The following force field analysis has been prepared for the proposed change across both countries.

The following additional information is available.

An alternative HR strategy would adapt implementation by country. It would use employee participation workshops in Country X, formal negotiation with employee representatives in Country Y, additional face-to-face training in both countries and a three-month phased implementation. This alternative would cost an additional USD 180000 in the first year.

CycleWorks Community (CWC) – a bicycle repair and training social enterprise

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

CycleWorks Community (CWC) repairs donated bicycles and sells them at low prices to students and low-income commuters. It also provides paid apprenticeships for unemployed young adults. CWC’s mission is to reduce transport inequality, reduce waste and help apprentices develop employability skills. CWC currently employs 18 permanent staff and 24 apprentices across two workshops.

CWC’s board wants to open a third workshop next year and introduce an online booking system for repairs. The operations manager believes this will increase revenue and reduce customer waiting times. However, the HR manager is concerned that the expansion will fail unless CWC develops a clearer human resource plan.

Resource 2 — Selected HR information for CWC

Resource 3 — Quotation from the HR manager

“Our social mission depends on people. Some workshop supervisors are excellent mechanics but have never managed apprentices before. If we grow too quickly, we may damage both service quality and apprentice outcomes.”

Resource 4 — Social-media statistic

A short video showing an apprentice learning to repair an electric bicycle received 420 000 views and 18 600 shares in one week. Several local employers commented that they would consider offering placements to CWC apprentices.

Resource 5 — Options being considered by CWC

• Option A: open the third workshop immediately using mainly newly recruited mechanics and supervisors.
• Option B: delay the third workshop for six months and first invest in supervisor training, apprentice mentoring and a structured workforce plan.
• Option C: use more freelance mechanics from the gig economy during busy periods while keeping the expansion timetable unchanged.

CareConnect Rural (CCR) – a social enterprise providing home-care services

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

CareConnect Rural (CCR) is a social enterprise that provides affordable home-care visits for elderly and disabled people in remote villages. CCR charges clients according to income and reinvests any surplus into subsidised care hours. It employs care assistants, nurses, schedulers and volunteer coordinators.

Demand for home-care visits is forecast to increase because the local population is ageing. At the same time, CCR is finding it harder to recruit care assistants. The chief executive is considering a new HR plan that includes flexitime, more part-time contracts, retraining volunteers as paid care assistants and using a digital scheduling app.

Resource 2 — External labour-market and HR planning data

Resource 3 — Quotation from a care assistant

“I joined CCR because of its mission, but the rota changes too often and travel time is exhausting. Some colleagues are leaving for hospitals that offer more predictable shifts.”

Resource 4 — Social-media statistic

A post thanking CCR workers during a winter storm reached 95 000 people locally and resulted in 140 enquiries about volunteering, but only 12 enquiries about paid care assistant jobs.

Resource 5 — Proposed HR planning actions

• Action 1: introduce flexitime and self-selected shift preferences where possible.
• Action 2: create a paid training pathway for volunteers to become care assistants.
• Action 3: recruit overseas care workers before immigration rules become tighter.
• Action 4: reduce subsidised visits to lower labour demand.

BrightBytes Access (BBA) – a digital inclusion social enterprise

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

BrightBytes Access (BBA) is a social enterprise that refurbishes donated laptops and provides low-cost digital skills courses for adults who are unemployed or socially isolated. BBA employs 42 people in three centres and works with local charities to identify learners. Its social objectives are to improve digital inclusion, reduce electronic waste and provide meaningful employment for people who have faced long-term unemployment.

BBA plans to introduce a new customer relationship management (CRM) system and online learner platform. The change should allow learners to book courses online, track progress and receive remote support. The chief operating officer wants to introduce the system in all three centres within eight weeks. Several employees are resisting the change.

Resource 2 — Employee survey on the proposed change

Resource 3 — Quotation from a centre coordinator

“The idea is good, but the timing is poor. We are already preparing for our largest community training event of the year. Some staff fear they will look incompetent in front of learners.”

Resource 4 — Social-media statistic

BBA’s announcement about the learner platform received 2 800 positive reactions from former learners, but employee comments on the internal forum were mostly questions about training, job security and workload.

Resource 5 — Force field summary prepared by BBA’s HR manager

Resource 6 — HR strategies being considered by BBA

• Strategy A: implement the system in all centres within eight weeks and make usage compulsory.
• Strategy B: pilot the system in one centre, provide additional training and involve employees in adapting the platform.
• Strategy C: offer a one-off bonus for using the system but keep the eight-week implementation deadline unchanged.