Case Study
CHANGING THE HR FUNCTION AT BELLA’S: A CASE STUDY
Bobby Medlin, USC Upstate
Lynne’s day had started at 7:00 this morning with a meeting with the disgruntled store manager of location number two—and things hadn’t slowed down since. Her “to-do” list was already full, but she had barely had time to glance at it. She was too busy with her “other stuff” (as she liked to call it)—things that kept her from being able to focus on what she really should be doing in her role at Bella’s. “Tough day, huh,” said Illa. Lynne and Illa, the two key players in the management of Bella’s, were meeting for drinks after work, like they had done every other Thursday (her ex husband’s night with her kids) for the past twelve years, to discuss business and life. These gettogethers used to start around 5:30. Lynne glanced at her watch as she handed the wine list back to the waitress. It was 9:25. “It’ll get better,” said Illa. “Illa, it’s 9:30—and believe me, this is a regular thing now. It’s costing me a fortune in babysitting, my kids never see me anymore, and it’s just wearing me out. And you know as well as I do that it’s not going to get better; it’s going to keep getting worse. We’ve gone over and over this,” said Lynne. “We decided that we’ve got to do something. Let’s don’t start rehashing or questioning our decision again now.” “You’re right. But you know I have reservations about whichever way we decide to go” said Illa. “I know, and I have concerns, too,” Lynne replied. “But you know things can’t stay as they are now. I keep telling you this, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but I can’t keep this up. I’ve got two full time jobs—three if you count my kids. I’m the general manager AND the HR director—and not just the director—I handle ALL the HR issues. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Not to mention the fact that I’m simply not running the place the way I always have, the way it should be run, because I’m constantly having to play human resource manager. We have five
Bobby Medlin, USC Upstate
Lynne’s day had started at 7:00 this morning with a meeting with the disgruntled store manager of location number two—and things hadn’t slowed down since. Her “to-do” list was already full, but she had barely had time to glance at it. She was too busy with her “other stuff” (as she liked to call it)—things that kept her from being able to focus on what she really should be doing in her role at Bella’s. “Tough day, huh,” said Illa. Lynne and Illa, the two key players in the management of Bella’s, were meeting for drinks after work, like they had done every other Thursday (her ex husband’s night with her kids) for the past twelve years, to discuss business and life. These gettogethers used to start around 5:30. Lynne glanced at her watch as she handed the wine list back to the waitress. It was 9:25. “It’ll get better,” said Illa. “Illa, it’s 9:30—and believe me, this is a regular thing now. It’s costing me a fortune in babysitting, my kids never see me anymore, and it’s just wearing me out. And you know as well as I do that it’s not going to get better; it’s going to keep getting worse. We’ve gone over and over this,” said Lynne. “We decided that we’ve got to do something. Let’s don’t start rehashing or questioning our decision again now.” “You’re right. But you know I have reservations about whichever way we decide to go” said Illa. “I know, and I have concerns, too,” Lynne replied. “But you know things can’t stay as they are now. I keep telling you this, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but I can’t keep this up. I’ve got two full time jobs—three if you count my kids. I’m the general manager AND the HR director—and not just the director—I handle ALL the HR issues. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Not to mention the fact that I’m simply not running the place the way I always have, the way it should be run, because I’m constantly having to play human resource manager. We have five