Roanoke Case Study

I. Purpose of investigation: To investigate and recommend solutions to recent client complaints and decline of employee morale at the Roanoke branch.

II. General approach to investigating the cause of issues
A. Interviews conducted the week of June 26, 2017
1. Group interview with employees that are threatening to quit
2. Interview with Carla Harvey, the remaining account executive
3. Interview with James Hendrix, the remaining art director
4. Phone interview with the two managers that left
B. Observation of the creative process and team meetings
1. Observe a project from start to finish, taking note of any policies that are not being followed
2. Document the dynamics of team meetings and the interactions between management and the workforce
Art director, Wes Borland, left because he had been working long hours for over a year
2. The art director that left was a salaried employee and, per the agency’s policy, did not get compensated for overtime
3. Salaried employees work 10 – 15 hours of overtime per week. 90% feel this is too much
4. Hourly employees work 5 – 7 hours of overtime per week
5. Overtime for salaried employees is exhausting them and causing productivity to decline by 40%
6. Overtime for hourly employees is costing the agency $224,640 annually
B. 25% of Roanoke’s clients are not satisfied with the level of service received in the last 12 months
1. These clients were all managed by Heidi Shepherd, the account executive that left the agency
2. Carla Harvey has not been able to keep up client relations with herclients as well as cover Heidi’s
3. Carla has not been able to respond to the client complaints due to being overwhelmed
C. Art directors are ignoring policies pertaining to creative collaboration
1. Graphic designers and copywriters feeling disgruntled and some are seeking employment elsewhere
2. Productivity and morale have declined 40% over the last year
3. Quality of advertising has declined 35% over the
Should happen immediately to give Roanoke some relief
2. Temporary assignments for about a month
3. Look for volunteers from other branches
4. Make sure their branch can cover their work while they are gone
B. Angela should start the hiring process immediately after the two temporary assignments arrive
1. Should take no longer than one month to have the new managers in place and trained
2. Temporary assignments return to their home branch after they are trained
C. Consider revising policy on accepting new clients
1. Require the approval of the branch CEO and the HR Manager
2. Ensure that the workload and staffing evaluations are done
3. Ensure that we have the proper resources to service new and existing clients with excellence
D. Assess Roanoke’s staffing needs immediately for both hourly and salaried employees
E. Consider revising policy pertaining to salaried employees and overtime
1. If a salaried employee is required to work more than five hours of overtime in a week, they can choose to flex that time off during slow periods.
2. Any salaried employee that works more than five hours of overtime in three consecutive weeks needs to initiate a staffing review
F. Implement weekly collaboration