Section 2

HP Planning
As we look to expand the horizons of our business into directly supplying conferences and
hotels with orchids and greenery it is clear that our organization is going to be in need of a
strong HR strategy to meet the demand for new labour in our organization.
Step 1 - Strategic analysis
If we are to enter into a new market such as this, we must firstly look ahead and set out our HR
objectives and analyze what our staffing requirements are going to be in order to grow these
new types of flowers and plants. It will be necessary to have staff with a completely different skill
set from what we currently have and therefore we must assess the need for hiring of such
skilled staff. We would need individuals who have knowledge to assist us with the best
techniques of propagating orchids and greens, as these are plants that require different care as
compared to rose or any of the other flowers we currently supply. We must conduct this analysis
bearing in mind the growth that our company may face as our flowers and plants become
increasingly popular in the conference and hoteling industries.
Step 2 Internal analysis
A workforce audit must be carried out to assess the currently available skills and the number of
staff we have who specialize in various area of our production process. The audit must assess
the efficiency and productivity of each member of staff, and should look into how efficiently their
skills have been employed by us. A work force audit may also cover areas such as
absenteeism, overtime worked, labour turnover and other factors that may be deemed relevant
to a comprehensive analysis of our workforce.
Step 3 Identify the gap between demand and supply
While the strategic analysis would have identified the estimated number of workers and skill
sets required, the internal workforce audit would inform us of how much of the required skill we
currently have. Therefore, based on this information, we can identify the gap in supply of labour
or skills that Flores Rosa would be facing in the future once we have decided to enter into the
new market and we would therefore be able to match the gap between demand and supply.
This would obviously be a deficit as we shall not be shutting down any operations but rather
would be adding to our existing operations which at times have to be staffed with seasonal
recruitments.
Step 4 Close the Gap
Once the deficit of staff has been identified and quantified we must the attempt to close the gap
between the demand and supply for labour skills. This can be done either by re-training our
existing staff and paying them more, to continue their existing work and work on the new
plantations as well, or by hiring new staff who will work on the new plantations and follow
special procedure for the orchids and greens. Reducing labour turnover too would go a long
way in reducing the requirements for external recruitments. This can be done by offering staff
higher wages, extending the retirement age, offering more flexibility to their working conditions
and hours or by offering them more benefits such as insurance covers, etc.

Step 5 Review
Once the HR plan is in action and the new propagation of orchids and greens has commenced,
we must look back and review the effectiveness of the implemented HR Plan. We must assess,
the extent to which the plan has been a success and look into the shortcoming of the plan.

Job Description
A job description should involve the following:
- The title of the job
- The purpose of the job to indicate the specific duties to be preformed
- The position of the job in the company (under whom the job holder is to be working), this would
be important for technical staff
- The wage/salary range
- The job holders authority and the limits to the persons authority
- The environment in which the job is to be done
- Opportunities the job may present such as career progression
- Location of the job
- Challenges the job may present
Person Specification
A person specification should define the desired personal characteristics for the best candidate,
this may include a physical make up of the person such as health and fitness, which would be
important if we are to find labour for propagation and harvesting. we must specify the type of
experience we would expect an ideal candidate to have, most preferably along the lines of
horticulture, with experience growing orchids and greens.
A person specification should specify the extent to which the job would require personal
intelligence to carry out the tasks, and ability to learn quickly from the training we shall be
providing during their induction. Special attribute may for plantation workers may be less
relevant as it would be mostly manual labour and hence there may not be a specific need to be
able to converse in multiple languages or possess IT skills. We would expect an ideal candidate
to be interested in planting and growing of orchids and greens and we would expect him/her to
demonstrate team work skills. Their disposition should be such that they are capable of working
under pressure and are committed to their jobs. It is also ideal that they have sound
backgrounds with no criminal records and are able to work necessary hours and be flexible in
challenging situations.

I trust that this information will assist you in writhing up your report.