Proposal to Introduce Balanced Shift Schedules and Improve Employee Communication

Submitted by
Alison Marwah

Submitted to
Store Manager; Express

Table of Contents

Introduction 3
Problem 4
Objectives 5
Solution 6
Costs and Resources 8
Conclusion 9

Introduction The intent of this advocacy proposal is to bring about positive reformation of two significant conflicts currently being experienced by Express employees. The first conflict has to do with shift scheduling and the lack of balance of work loads felt by each employee. Secondly, communication between employees and their superiors has continued to deteriorate due to differences in the personality and perception of one another. Along with detailed descriptions of these areas of conflict and their effects on employees, this proposal will provide useful solutions in which managers are encouraged to utilize. Proposed solutions, such as frequent team meetings and communication exercises, will allow managers to increase employee satisfaction while building team cohesion. Once adopted, this proposal may change the attitude of Express employees for the better, as higher productivity rates often accompany both socially and physically content employees.

Problem As mentioned, there are two problems which have surfaced in the work environment at Express. The first issue, unbalanced shift schedules, has occurred for several months now and is becoming increasingly concerning for employees. Each employee, referred to as a sales associate, was hired on a part time status yet has had to work an increased number of shifts due to major under-staffing. The main cause of this issue could be the under-staffing and frequent quitting of new associates who become quickly discouraged. For example, each time an employee quits, their shifts are dispersed among other employees' schedules, adding more hours to an already busy workload. While situations like these are difficult to predict, being understaffed has become a major detriment to the employee morale at Express. In essence, the issue of unbalanced shift schedules leaves sales associates feeling tired, worn out, and unable to plan extracurricular activities in advance.
The second conflict has risen as a causal effect of the first problem, in which employees do not feel confident approaching the manager about the current situation. This issue is greatly related to the first, in that minimal communication has left sales associates feeling unsure about speaking up when they feel there is a dilemma. For some, it has been easier to quit rather than to speak with a manager about their scheduling and conversational conflicts. While these issues directly affect the store's employees, if not fixed, customer service and productivity may also suffer. When sales associates become discouraged and burnt out, their customer service abilities drop and sales will likely drop as well. Subsequently, when the store's performance is low, managers become disappointed and sometimes reflect their negative feelings towards sales associates in their communication. Due to these problems, there is an immediate need for change in order to improve employee and customer conditions as well as the overall well being of the store.

Objectives The main objective of this advocacy proposal is to promote organizational efficacy by improving sales associate scheduling methods and introducing fair communication between managers and their subordinates. After revealing the issues which are affecting several aspects of individual and store performance, this proposal will go on to identify the steps necessary to work towards a solution. First, restructuring the process of creating work schedules and working around each employee's needs as best as possible will eliminate much of the negativity sales associates may currently feel towards working. Next,