Coles Group Workforce Analysis - Case Study Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Coles Group Workforce Analysis INTERNAL ANALYSIS Coles Group is a large Australian business operating in the retail industry. The latest available government statistics about the company were released in 2006, at which time the company had 165,000 employees. At the time, 61 percent of the Group’s employees were women. On management level, 79.2 percent of all positions were occupied by men, while only 20.8 percent of all management positions were occupied by women (Australian Government 1). Current statistics however indicate that the number of employees in the company had gone down to 94,000 employees serving an estimated 4.5 million customers on a weekly basis (Coles). Employees’ competencies are gauged depending on the work positions available. Being a retail company, Coles Group offers both casual and part-time employment opportunities to its employees, and permanent or contract-based employment for employees working in departments such as information technology, human resources, corporate affairs, and the finance and administration. Other departments where people are employed either permanently or on contract basis include the legal department, the property department, and the supply chain department (Westfarmers 1). Current and predicted retirements, turnovers and secondments Since there are no specific data available for retirement, turnovers or secondments, this analysis will use the data provided by CNNMoney.com and the Australian government to estimate the annual turnover and retirement statistics in the company. Between 2006 and 2008, there were 49389 workers who had retired, quit voluntarily, or were fired with no replacements. This means that the average turnover in the company is around 16, 000 people. However, this analysis cannot rule out the possibility that the situation could be different now, especially given that the financial performance of the company was poor during the 2006-2007 period, a situation that eventually led to the sale of Coles Group to Wesfarmers Limited (Coles Group Limited 2). Current skills essential to the business Human resources skills: With most business operations relying on direct customer interactions, skilful workers are invaluable for the company. The role to ensure that such people are employed lies with the HR department, which has to play its recruitment role well. Additional skills needed in the HR department include knowledge in organisational development, remuneration and benefits (for the employees), employee relations, safety, and HR planning. Skills in Information Technology: To deliver fast business solutions to its customers as well as its shareholders, the Coles Group has an IT department which is charged with ensuring that the retail company has technology-enabled processes (Wesfarmers 1). Employees in this department need to be skilled in programme management, business systems management, e-technology, IT infrastructure operations, and software deployment and support. Skills in supply chain management: Being a large and diverse supply-chain network, the Coles Group needs skilful human resource to handle flow of goods in the different stores. Distinct skills are needed in handling the supply chain’s operations, distribution of merchandise and apparel, and inventory management. Skills in corporate affairs: According to Wesfamers, the corporate affairs department in the Coles group is responsible for providing strategic support in Coles Group’s internal departments, as well as across stakeholder groups. Specifically, different skills are needed to handle investor relations, the media, internal communications and government and regulatory bodies. Skills in finance and administration: The skills needed in this area are meant to address accounting services, electronic trading, strategic procurement, corporate financing, and loss-prevention. Skills in property management: People skilled in property management are essential in the acquisition, leasing, development and protection of the property assets that Coles Group uses as retail outlets. Employees in the property department must be skilled in property finance, strategic property analysis, property development, lease and asset management or property legal services. Skills in legal affairs: In the retail business, Coles Group relies on the employees skilled in legal affairs to give legal support in matters such as trade practices, property leasing, litigations, commercial transactions, information technology, banking and finance, and intellectual property among other matters (Wesfarmers 1). EXTERNAL ANALYSIS Most of the skills critical for successful operations of the Coles Group can be defined as either professional or industry-specific. Even the retail store attendants have to possess good communication and interpersonal skills as their interaction with customers affects the latter’s perception about the retail business. According to 2009 statistics released by the Australian Institute of Management, the country is experiencing gaps in the supply of skills in almost all sectors (6). According to the statistics, there was a 43 percent gap in industry or professional specific skills. Further, there was a 36 percent gap in project and process management skills. Finally, the skills gap existing in communication and interpersonal skills stood at 31 percent (Australian Institute of Management 6). The gaps as identified in the Australian Institute of Management report would have a direct impact on the recruitment needs of the Coles Group because the HR, IT, corporate affairs and legal affairs skills required in the firm fall within the industry or professional-specific skills category. Skills in supply chain management finance and administration, and property management on the other hand fall in the project and process management skills category. Customer service skills would also be required in the retail attendants, and according to the Australian Institute of Management report, there exists a 23 percent gap in this area. The report further states that firms employing more that 1001 people were most likely to experience at least 46 percent skills gap across the organisation (Australian Institute of Management 8). The trends in the labour market indicate that Australia workforce requirements in legal skills are adequately met with large organisations experiencing only 1 percent skills gap. Workforce requirements in finance skills are not badly off as large organisations reported a 6 percent skills gap. The table below shows skills gap relevant to the Coles Group Table 1: Skills Gap in different department in organisations in Australia Skills gap in firms employing more than 1001 employees Customer relations / sales 18% Corporate communications/ marketing 10% IT 19% HR 10% Finance 8% Legal affairs 1% Source: Australian Institute of Management, p.8. Gauging by the statistics provided by the Australian Institute of Management, Coles Group would have relative ease recruiting the workforce needed to fill positions in its legal affairs department. Recruiting for the finance department would also be relatively easy although not as easy as the legal affairs department. Recruiting talent to fill positions in HR and the corporate communications department would be faced with some challenges given that the country is experiencing a 10 percent skills gap in the two job categories. The biggest challenges in recruiting would be experienced when recruiting for customer relations, where statistics indicate there is an 18 percent skills gap. DEMANDS ANALYSIS Considering that Coles Group has not indicated any intention to diversify its business from the current operations, it is wise to assume that the retail firm will carry on with the current business practices. However, this does not mean that the consumer requirements will remain the same. As such, skilled workers may be necessary in order for Coles Group to attract and maintain shoppers who value a good customer experience. This means that in addition to continued skills demand in areas identified as critical to the business, Coles Group will need to start recruiting people who are well skilled in customer relations. Considering that the statistics by the Australian Institute of Management (8) show an 18 percent skills gap in customer relations at the moment, the Coles Group may have to consider training their employees in customer relations rather than seek to recruit people who are skilled in the same. GAP ANALYSIS In addition to a shortage in a skilful workforce in customer relations, Coles Group also appears to have foreseen a looming shortage in retail leaders, store support managers, and logistics managers. This is evident from the group’s focus to offer graduates opportunities to work in these career areas (Coles (b). Although there are no available statistics regarding the availability of skills in the three job areas, it is evident that the group foresees a rise in demand for skills in the future. Considering the need for the provision of a fulfilling customer experience as one of the ways that the Coles Group can attract and retain customers, the retail firm may have to conduct an audit of its store attendants in order to verify if indeed their performance is satisfactory to the customers and if it fits within the long-term objectives of the firm. Store attendants who do not possess the needed customer relations skills may have to be trained or replaced with new employees having the needed skills. Potential areas for direction in the future may include expanding Cole Group’s staff training capacity in order to equip the employees with the needed skills. As observed by Shah and other, “skills shortage, skills gaps and recruitment difficulties are a growing concern in Australia” (9). As such, firms will need to develop strategies that will enhance the maximal use of skilled labour. Moreover, the strategies will need to improve on recruitment practices as well as efforts taken by firms to retain the skilled workforce. Notably however, quantifying the exact future direction that Coles Group needs to take in the future is difficult due to the scanty details about the retail chain’s vision. Works Cited Australian Government. “Coles Group Case Study: Organisational Background.” Dec. 2006. 30 Oct. 2010. http://www.eowa.gov.au/Case_Studies/2006/Coles%20Group.pdf Australian Institute of Management. “Australia’s Workforce ‘Skills Gap’.” Dec. 2009. 30 Oct. 2010. Coles (a). “Coles Careers.” n.d. Oct. 30, 2010. http://www.colescareers.com.au/Supermarkets/Working-in-Our-Supermarkets.aspx Coles (b). “Coles Careers.” n.d. Oct. 30, 2010, http://www.colescareers.com.au/Graduates/About-the-program.aspx Coles Group limited. “Annual Report 2007.” Dec. 2008. 30 Oct. 2010. Shah, Chandra, Cooney Richard, Long Michael & Burke Gerald. “Availability of Skilled Labour in Selected Occupations in Western Australia.” Centre for the Economic of Education and Training- Monash University. August 2005. 30 Oct. 2010. Wesfarmers. “Coles.” n.d. 28 Oct. 2010. < http://www.wesfarmers.com.au/our-businesses/coles.html> Read More