Question: Stonewall Manufacturing Case Study - You are an HR Director at Stonewall Manufacturing, a rapid prototype development company, headquartered in Norwell, MA, with operations across the US

Stonewall Manufacturing Case Study

You are an HR Director at Stonewall Manufacturing, a rapid prototype development company, headquartered in Norwell, MA, with operations across the US. The following results were recently compiled by your HR Business Partner and based on a supply analysis of managerial positions/roles. Based on this analysis, you need to prepare a recap to Stonewall’s CEO that summarizes what roles the company should be investing as well as which ones are likely to require fewer employees in the future.  Specifically, your assessment should:

• Identify two roles where you feel Stonewall will have a shortage of employees that could most significantly impact its future business strategy. For each of the two roles, address the following:

• • Employee Development: In order to develop existing, Stonewall employees into these roles, what are the top knowledge and skills needed for each role.
  • Retention Focus Areas: Knowing that we want to focus on retaining employees in these positions, what are important work values that Stonewall should consider from a retention perspective.  Provide example(s) of a specific action to retain employees in each role.
  • Alternative Sourcing: As Stonewall searches for candidates to fill these roles in the future, what related occupations or roles could we consider for recruiting; explain why.

• Identify one role where you feel we will be over-staffed due a contraction in our future need; explain which role and why.

A few factors to consider:

• To complete your assessment, you will need to assess and understand the external market for these roles. You can use O*Net.org for this level of analysis. This site will provide useful information:

• • Projected growth: identifies the rate of growth of this role in the US over the next 5 to 10 years. Knowing this will be able to assess how the company’s current need differs from that of the market. As you address the questions you want to assess, it would be helpful to know whether the company needs that role at a higher rate than the market or visa-versa.
  • Skillset: identifies and prioritizes key competencies required for the job
  • Work values: identifies and prioritizes retention factors that are important for individuals who perform this role
  • Related positions: identifies complementary roles

• A “span of control” identifies the average number of direct reports someone in that role has (staff to manager ratio). For planning purposes, the company has assessed that 6 direct reports is ideal for managers. If a manager has a higher number than that, then they are spread too thin and are less likely to be an effective manager of a team. Inversely, if that number is below the average, then they have some bandwidth to manage more individuals.

Stonewell Manufacturing

• Identify two roles with a shortage of employees that could most significantly impact its future business strategy.  

• • Employee Development: what are the top knowledge and skills needed for each role
  • Retention Focus Areas: what are important work values/activities that Stonewall should consider from a retention perspective
  • Alternative Sourcing:  what related occupations or roles could we consider for recruiting

• Identify one role where you feel we will have a contraction in our future need

• Factors: 
  • Projected Internal Growth vs. Projected Growth in External Market
  • Span of Control
  • Skills/Competencies
  • Work Values/What’s Important/Retention Levers
  • Related Positions to be a feeder