Reference no: EM133395634

Staffing Issues at Globo

Dwight Goodman, the VP of Operations for Globo had multiple challenges when it comes to staffing. The problem that jumped forward first was a persistent one. It had been resurfacing over the past couple of weeks, and Dwight felt that he needed to do something, but he had not been able to figure out what. The problem was connected to their employee base. Globo had grown quickly, and Dwight had to admit that the company didn't always look long term when adding positions.

Oversupply

A year earlier there had been several projects that required heavy administrative support. Although the majority of contracts relied mostly on programmers, several projects had come in that needed a large amount of data entry. Instead of using highly paid programmers to complete these tasks, Dwight and the team had calculated data entry speeds divided into the total quantity of data entry along with the timeline requirements and had determined that the workload could be handled by six administrative personnel. Dwight worked with Charlotte Reid (HR Business Partner) in hiring the additional six administrative positions, and it had worked out very well. These staff members had made a substantial contribution. Each was considered a strong worker and well-liked. However, those projects were almost completed, and the new projects that had come in since their hiring did not require a lot of data entry. Dwight was well aware that, within the next month or two, there would only be enough work for about two of these employees. Globo was always getting new projects, so it was possible that greater need would arise over the coming year. It was just difficult to know for sure. Due to the uncertainty, Dwight didn't know what he should do.

Undersupply

In a related issue, Dwight knew that there would be a need for the addition of new technical talent in the coming months for a couple of upcoming projects that required expertise the company currently did not have in-house. By his calculations, Globo would need three new developers with experience in new IT technology. Globo would likely require this talent for eight months on a full-time basis. Normally, Dwight would simply approve the hires and assume that he could find work for the employees afterwards, but after struggling with the administrative overstaffing, he didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

The Long Winding Road

It occurred to Dwight that perhaps this wasn't a puzzle that he could work on his own. He realized that it might help to bounce ideas around with Globo's HR Business Partner. Charlotte was well qualified in all areas of HR. Hence, Dwight felt that a good starting point would be to connect with Charlotte about this.

1. Outline any two potential HR strategies that could be used to deal with the undersupply issue. Briefly explain the strategies, relevance to the case and why you believe these methods can help Globo.