Reference no: EM132622941

Debra employs seven full-time and two part-time team members. Two of the full-timers work in the back office, dividing the invoicing, stock ordering and billing work between them as it comes in. Another two are stock clerks that manage the receiving, unpacking and inspection of stock. If anything out of the ordinary occurs, they call on Debra for assistance. They have been with Debra for the past three years and get along quite well.

The others: three full-timers and two part-timers, deal directly with customers and inquiries. Debra can usually be found in the store with them. The longest serving of these employees has been with Debra for 12 months and the newest for three months and two weeks respectively. Debra has noticed that the front of store staff seems to keep a lot more to themselves than the back office staff. They wait to be told what like to do & don't seem to help each other out unless she asks them to.

Debra wishes she could afford to work less and enjoy herself more. But things haven't worked out that way. There always seems to be problems that she has to deal with permanently - customers don't get what they order, or there is an employee with a personal complaint or grievance or staff not showing up for work at the right time.

Recently Debra allowed Sally, one of the back office staff to take over ordering. Instead of checking how Sally was going she has left her to it (after all she has been doing her job for three years wonderfully). A customer has just visited the store and complained that some products that have recently been added to the stock use palm oil. The customer was horrified as the palm oil industry is linked to major issues such as deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses in the countries where it is produced, as the land and forests must be cleared for the development of the oil palm plantations.

Sally was unaware of this issue and is terribly sorry. She did not think to check the ingredients of the affected products with anyone before she made the transaction. She thought it was a great buy as there was a 40% mark up on it and thought Debra would be pleased. While the matter has cost Debra financially (in stock that she cannot sell), the customer concerned has indicated they understand the mistake was an innocent one and they will maintain loyalty with the store (provided it does not happen again).

Jason is the front of store team member that has been with the company for the last 12 months. He is fantastic with the customers and people love his service. He has also become a very popular member amongst the rest of the team, with people often referring to him for an opinion or some advice. Debra is impressed with everything he does but is concerned that he is getting bored with his duties (she sometimes catches him daydreaming when the store is not busy) and may be looking elsewhere for further challenges.

Debra doesn't know what to do. She wants to give her employees the authority to make decisions in the store operations, but she doesn't feel that she can rely on them to do what she hired them to do. It seems that every one of them has complained about his or her job, indicating that they are all over-worked and under-appreciated. She always laughs when they start talking this way, telling them that what they need to do is roll up their sleeves and get to work. This usually shuts them up and they get back to their jobs.

Complaints such as; 'we need a better washroom' or 'we want an area where we can sit down for a coffee break or eat our lunch' always annoy her. She laughs off such ideas saying that this is a place of work, not a place for lounging around. To Debra, her employees just don't seem to appreciate all that she is doing for them and what the business represents. They always want more. She thinks she is a great employer but wonders what is going wrong.

Debra wants to have a prosperous business. She wants her employees to like her and each other. She wants to be an employer of choice. She needs her employee's to step up but doesn't know how to go about telling them she wants more from them. She has never been 'good with words' and she figures that her actions should tell them a whole lot more than any words anyway.

Debra decides to hire you - a management consultant. Your job is to help her improve her relationships with her staff, get the team performing as a team and increase individual performance

Part 1

Debra has first asked you about skills risk assessment on her business. She wants to know what risks her business faces in regard to meeting its objectives. Fill out the Risk Assessment Analysis (Legislation, Risk, Analysis and evaluation of risk, Mitigation strategies) Debra has provided (over page) with regards to the following criteria.

(a) List at least two pieces of legislation you need to consider when completing this risk assessment.
(b) Identify one risk you feel Debra's business is open to under each piece of legislation.
(c) Analyse and evaluate the impact of the risks.
(d) Outline your mitigation strategies for the risks.

TASK 1: list at least two KPI's for the position of Sales and Service Consultants that focus on structuring their duties (n.b. ensure to include how the KPIs will be measured as having being met or otherwise).

TASK 2 provide a list of professional development options that could benefit a team in a work (minimum of three required). Justify your answers.

Task 3: what are the responsibilities of an employer under the OH&S act in regard to the Compliance code for Workplace Amenities and Work Environment.