Human Resource Management issues in Fab Visage
Fab Visage is a hair & beauty salon based in Galway city centre with 18 female full time staff.
Personnel Manager Kay Ryan currently manages Fab Visage; she also looks after payroll, procurement and deals with the increasing number of issues presented to her by staff. Kay had worked in the salon for over 35 years and has a reputation as a tough woman, with set ideas about staff, and how they are managed. A number of younger staff asked to work part time to manage childcare and Kay refused citing company policies and saying ‘I’ve managed the business successfully with full time staff; you can leave if you don’t like it here’. Despite the fact that the hourly rate was above average, staff turnover was high and new staff were recruited informally through current staff members. Training was on the job, with no external training provided. Kay felt she could train the new girls. Some of the staff members had contracts and others were unaware that they were entitled to one. Kay said she meant to get around to organising the contracts but had been too busy of late.
Aware that Kay was planning to retire, the owners of the salon, who had no management skills, decided to sell the salon and were delighted when an American entrepreneur, Jane Wynne, expressed an interest in purchasing the business.
Jane Wynne was home in Galway for a holiday. She was thinking of relocating when she saw the salon for sale. She was thrilled with her purchase. She knew it would be hard work, combined with the fact that the salon definitely needed a makeover.
With extensive experience in senior management and HR – Janes’ most recent position was as HR manager with a busy salon in Chicago, she was keen to keep up to date with new beauty trends. Staff turnover was almost non-existent during her 15 years with her previous company and she knew that she had been a fair HR manager.
Before Kay’s retirement, Jane visited the salon to meet with Kay and the staff. During the meeting, Jane sensed a hostility between staff members and Kay. Dressed mostly in dark uniforms, which looked decidedly worn, the staff were unsmiling and unengaging. In fact, Jane thought, they looked discontented. She also observed two of the staff eating in one corner of the salon in full view of clients having treatments. She wondered if the negative culture that she was feeling, could be changed and if so how? Additionally she was keen to get to know the staff and thought team building exercises could work.
Janes plan was to take over the HRM function and recruit internally for a manager. She asked Kay if there was a staff member with management potential, but Kay did not believe that any staff member had any management potential, and in her opinion, most of them were lazy and had a bad attitude to work. She was happy to be leaving, she confided in Jane.
Jane left the salon in deep thought wondering where and how she should start tackling the numerous issues she observed. She decided to list the issues as she observed and was confident she could find solutions and make positive changes in the salon.
Read the case study above and using relevant research and examples, please answer the following three questions.
- Considering the case study above, what are the obvious issues that require immediate attention and why? Having identified a minimum of three obvious issues, what recommendations could you suggest that to amend these issues? (use research and examples to support your answer)
- Given what we know of Jane’s background, discuss the difference in her approach to HRM and the current HRM approach to date in the salon. (use research and examples to support your answer)
- Examine the importance of Employee Engagement for management and staff. Explore and discuss in detail Employee Engagement strategies, which you would recommend for Jane for her salon staff? (use research and examples to support your answer)
