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Briefly describe the term ‘mission statement’? Suggest an appropriate mission statement for GLS

Case Study

Green Line Staffing plc

Green Line Staffing plc (GLS) is a medium-sized employment-staffing organisation that is engaged in the  process of attracting, screening and selecting qualified candidates for job openings in companies of all shapes and sizes. It staffs workforce, on behalf of its clients, to work on permanent employment contracts in the finance industry. The organisation strives to be an integral and invaluable partner to its clients. The organisation is engaged in providing consultative employment service through the understanding of the technical and behavioural attributes required by the clients.

Company Profile of GLS- A Global approach

GLS was formed 15 years ago by Jia Paul and Mathew McCarthy, who had worked together in the human resources department of an investment bank. Shortly afterwards they set up an office in the financial district of London and now have 40 members of staff. The Company has established a base of regular clients, but it also carries out one-off assignments. The industry is competitive and new clients and assignments are gained through tenders.  Each year, existing regular clients put pressure on GLS to reduce fees. GLS specialises in permanent appointments in the finance industry. This includes banking, investment management, financial services and accounting. It seeks to attract candidates with a minimum of five years` relevant work experience. The average first-year salary of GLS`s recruits is £85,000. A further specialism is their global approach as GLS attempts to recruit candidates both in the UK and internationally, mainly for clients based in London. Mathew summarised this policy stating:

"GLS recruit in three regions: Europe, North America and East Asia. GLS uses internet, industry electronic journals and social media to recruit the best financial candidates in the world and bring them to London, which is one of the largest global financial centres. These international candidates bring language skills and understanding of international financial markets."

The Profile of Employment Staffing Industry

Staffing agencies are known for attracting, recognising and selecting appropriate applicants as employees for their clients. Staff recruited may be for permanent or temporary contracts. Some firms, both big and small, choose to conduct recruitment in-house, using internal staff to complete the process. Others choose to outsource and use the services of external recruitment agencies. These agencies are run by professional recruitment consultants that can work for both employers and job seekers. Recruitment consultants are essentially intermediaries between hiring organisations and potential employees. Recruitment is a growing field, with the number of UK recruitment agencies increasing by around 27% year on year.

Staffing agencies may also offer other services, such as training, project management (e.g., redundancy schemes and large-scale staffing initiatives), advice (e.g., on employment law) and staff appraisal. Frequently, these services are provided to existing regular clients. Advertising available jobs in the most efficient manner, and identifying potential employees, are key processes for any staffing agency. Augmented use of the internet and social media in current era has expedited these practices for all companies in the industry.

Furthermore, crucial limitations on staffing agencies are legitimate issues regarding both who can be recruited and the process by which employees can be recruited. Smaller agencies tend to specialise in a particular industry. These may include finance, IT, hospitality, education, construction and many more or a category of employee including new graduates, seasonal workers; or a geographical region, for instance chief cities or a sole country. Larger staffing agencies function across a wide-ranging gamut of services and sectors. The majority of the revenue of staffing agencies comes from charging fees to clients for achieving successful staffing. The hiring organisation, will be required to pay fees which may vary depending on the type of recruitment undertaken. The fee for recruiting a permanent employee is normally based on a percentage of the employee`s first year salary. As per the contingency approach, the hiring organisation pays a fee only when a suitable candidate has accepted a job offer. The fee will be a percentage of the employee’s first year base salary usually between 15% and 20%. A guarantee of between 30 and 90 days will typically be in place, with the fee fully refundable or prorated should the candidate fail to perform and have their contract terminated.

On the other hand, as per the retained approach, retainer fees are commonly associated with executive search agencies and are paid in three stages during the recruitment process – a percentage upfront, an additional payment on the production of a candidate shortlist, and a final payment once the role is filled. A retainer fee is an advance payment that is made by a client to a professional, and it is considered a down payment on the future services rendered by that professional. Retainer fees typically equate to around 30% of the candidates first year salary and are generally non-refundable.

Scenario in Recession

Few years ago, when there was recession. The market for staffing agency services was weak during that time. However, revenue in the industry increased with the passage of time. Profitability growth has been highest in the staffing of permanent employees. Many new entrants to the staffing agency industry are being attracted by increasing profits.

Recovery in Recession

During the recession, market conditions for GLS were difficult, as they were for all companies in the industry. Then, as the UK economy began to emerge from the recession, GLS continued to find it difficult to win new tenders, retain existing clients and increase revenue. The GLS board therefore decided to reduce all its fees by 10% for each employee recruited. This reduction was aimed at winning tenders and retaining clients, and thereby gaining a greater volume of business.

A board meeting in two years’ time reviewed the success of the fee reduction policy. Mathew McCarthy opined: "The policy to reduce fees has been a disaster. I have produced some financial information and operating data which shows that, while revenue has increased, operating profit has fallen. I think we should revert to our previous fee levels."

The marketing director, David, disagreed: "I think the policy has been a success. We have won more tenders than in the previous few years, and we have retained nearly all our regular clients. This gives the agency a better basis to market itself to existing and new clients and therefore to build for the future."

On the contrary, Jia Paul had a different view: "I think we need to move upmarket and increase fees by 20% from their current, reduced, level. Clearly, we must offer something in return to clients, so I think we should go beyond the industry norm for offering rebates. I suggest we offer a 100% rebate to clients if our recruits leave their employment within six months of joining, and a 75% rebate if recruits leave between six months and 12 months of joining. We will then be giving a really clear signal that we have confidence in the quality and suitability of the candidates we have recruited."

Requirements

Task 1: Briefly describe the term ‘mission statement’? Suggest an appropriate mission statement for GLS. (15 marks)

Task 2: Using the PESTEL framework, analyse external factors and explain how the following aspects affect the employment staffing agency industry:

• · Economic
• · Technological
• · Legal

You are not required to discuss the other PESTEL factors. (20 marks)

Task 3:  Explain the factors that should be considered in deciding whether to implement Jia`s proposal. Provide a well-structured recommendation. (20 marks)

Task 4

The balanced scorecard developed by Kaplan and Norton is used by the management of companies to measure the performance.

Determine the use of the balanced scorecard in the food retail industry, suggesting what you would expect to find in the key perspectives of the balance scorecard in retail stores. (30 marks)

Presentation and referencing (15 marks)

Instructions:

This assignment requires you to carry out your own research work to enable you to obtain an excellent mark, using the CU Harvard style of referencing.

Make reference to the relevant standards, legislation and regulations in your answers.

Clarity, precision and economy of writing.

Accurate use of academic language and writing conventions appropriate for the specific task.  

Presentation and Referencing:

• Good overall presentation of paper as appropriate to the task.
• Appropriate pagination, layout, margins, and typographical accuracy, consistent and appropriate citation style, use of headings, etc.
• Correct attribution of sources through citations.

Total Marks = 100

Word Limit 2,500 (+/-10%)