Introduction To Juanita’s World: This Scenario Follows Juani ✓ Solved

Introduction to Juanita’s World: This scenario follows Juani

Introduction to Juanita’s World: This scenario follows Juanita Espinosa, a 24-year-old Hispanic woman newly hired as HR Manager for a regional branch of an international non-profit. The regional office struggles with donations, retention, motivation, pay, training, and faces closure within 12 months unless HR-related improvements are shown. Staff: about 30 full-time employees across fundraising, transportation, marketing/communications, and HR, plus nearly 60 volunteers.

Juanita's mandate: establish HR priorities and develop a strategic HR plan within five weeks of hire to stabilize the employee base, improve quality and efficiency of services, and build commitment among paid staff and volunteers. Key problems observed: HR previously limited to paperwork; weak job descriptions; inadequate recruitment and selection; lack of training and development; absent performance appraisals; compensation based on equality rather than performance equity; recent resignations; limited budget and reliance on volunteers; legal/compliance issues including federal and state contracts and occasional National Guard/Reserve hires.

Assignment tasks: Using Juanita's perspective, produce a strategic HR plan and action priorities that she could implement over the short term (5 weeks) to address recruitment and retention, training and development, performance management, compensation and recognition, employee and volunteer engagement, and legal compliance. Specifically address: 1) skills Juanita should develop to fulfill her role; 2) how Juanita might engage line managers in HR functions; 3) which aspects of HR to entrust to specialists. Provide actionable, fair, legally compliant tactics compatible with limited resources.

Paper For Above Instructions

Executive Summary

Juanita faces a high-risk, resource-constrained context where stabilizing staff and volunteers is essential to preserving services and the regional office. Her five-week strategic HR plan should prioritize rapid diagnosis, compliance triage, stabilization of key roles, immediate manager engagement, and low-cost retention tactics. The plan aligns with best practices in small nonprofit HR by combining quick wins and longer-term systemic changes (Renz & Herman, 2016; Salamon, 2012).

Short-term (5-Week) Strategic HR Plan — Overview

Goal: Stabilize workforce, reduce immediate turnover, and begin systemic improvements that are legally compliant and cost-conscious.

Week 1 — Rapid Assessment & Compliance Triage

Actions: conduct a focused audit of staffing levels, open vacancies, contracts, and compliance obligations (federal/state grants; EEOC; FLSA; USERRA for National Guard/Reserve hires). Prioritize legal risks (EEOC, wage-hour, contract deliverables) and document current job descriptions and informal role expectations (EEOC, DOL guidance) (EEOC, n.d.; U.S. Dept. of Labor, n.d.). Deliverable: compliance risk register and staffing heat map.

Week 2 — Stabilize Key Roles & Launch “Quick Win” Retention

Actions: implement stay interviews for at-risk staff; deploy targeted recognition (non-monetary awards, flexible scheduling, micro-credentials) and clarify role expectations through rapid job-description updates (Hager & Brudney, 2004; Armstrong, 2014). Begin structured exit and stay-interview data capture. Deliverable: immediate retention package and updated job templates.

Week 3 — Manager Engagement & Performance Foundations

Actions: run a short manager workshop on performance conversations, delegation, and hiring basics; introduce a simple RACI (responsible-accountable-consulted-informed) framework so line managers take ownership of selection and supervision (Ulrich, 1997). Pilot a lightweight performance appraisal for critical roles with clear metrics tied to mission outcomes. Deliverable: manager toolkit and pilot appraisal forms.

Week 4 — Training & Volunteer Management

Actions: deploy modular, peer-led training (cross-training drivers/volunteers on safe food handling and distribution) and establish volunteer supervision protocols to reduce waste of in-kind gifts and improve reliability (Hager & Brudney, 2004). Use internal subject matter experts to limit cost (Renz & Herman, 2016). Deliverable: training schedule and volunteer supervision guide.

Week 5 — Compensation, Recognition & Measurement

Actions: present a compensation 'equity' plan that rebalances small pay differences with targeted performance-based recognition and non-cash benefits (career development, public recognition, role flexibility) to improve retention within tight budgets (Armstrong, 2014; Dessler, 2017). Establish KPIs: turnover rate, vacancy days, volunteer retention, donor complaints about waste. Deliverable: compensation rebalancing proposal and dashboard.

Skills Juanita Should Develop

1. Strategic HR and analytics — ability to translate workforce data into business recommendations (Ulrich, 1997). 2. Change leadership — building consensus, managing resistance, and driving rapid-cycle improvements (Kotter-like principles applied pragmatically) (Kotter, 1996). 3. Legal and compliance literacy — practical knowledge of EEOC, FLSA, USERRA, and grant requirements to avoid costly violations (EEOC; U.S. Dept. of Labor; USERRA). 4. Stakeholder engagement and communication — clear briefings for donors, managers, and volunteers to sustain mission trust (Salamon, 2012). 5. Volunteer management and community cultural competence — essential in a mission-driven nonprofit (Hager & Brudney, 2004).

Engaging Line Managers

Line managers must share HR responsibilities to scale impact. Tactics: create a clear RACI for recruitment, onboarding, and performance; provide short manager toolkits and micro-trainings; set manager KPIs tied to retention and mission outcomes; introduce small, manager-led interview panels to increase selection quality; and emphasize quick, visible wins (improved scheduling, recognition) that demonstrate HR support rather than replacement (Ulrich, 1997; Armstrong, 2014). These steps foster joint accountability and reduce HR bottlenecks.

HR Functions to Entrust to Specialists

Given resource constraints, Juanita should retain strategic oversight but outsource or seek specialist support for: complex compensation design and benchmarking (comp specialists or consultants), legal compliance and labor-law interpretation (external counsel or pro-bono legal clinics for nonprofits), payroll administration and benefits claims (outsourced payroll provider), and specialized training for licensed activities (e.g., food safety certification). Routine transactional HR (onboarding checklists, basic recruitment, and performance coaching) can be run internally with manager support (Dessler, 2017; Renz & Herman, 2016).

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Ensure nondiscrimination (EEOC), proper wage payment and classification (FLSA), and protections for service members (USERRA). For federal/state contracts, ensure staffing and documentation meet grant terms to protect funding streams (EEOC, U.S. Dept. of Labor, USERRA guidance). Use documented, fair processes for performance-based separations to reduce legal exposure (Armstrong, 2014).

Measurement & Continuous Improvement

Key metrics: monthly turnover, time-to-fill, volunteer retention, food-waste incidents, donor satisfaction, and compliance incidents. Use simple dashboards and weekly check-ins with managers to iterate interventions. This data-driven cadence builds credibility and shows HQ measurable HR impact within the 12-month pressure window (Ulrich, 1997; Dessler, 2017).

Conclusion

Juanita can deliver meaningful HR improvements within five weeks by combining rapid assessment, compliance triage, manager engagement, low-cost retention tactics, and targeted specialist use. Prioritizing legal compliance, manager enablement, and volunteer reliability will reduce operational waste and improve donor confidence, buying time to implement medium-term HR reforms that reinforce mission delivery (Salamon, 2012; Renz & Herman, 2016).

References

  • Armstrong, M. (2014). Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page.
  • Dessler, G. (2017). Human Resource Management. Pearson.
  • EEOC. (n.d.). Laws Enforced by EEOC. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. https://www.eeoc.gov/
  • Hager, M. A., & Brudney, J. L. (2004). Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers. The Urban Institute.
  • Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press.
  • Renz, D. O., & Herman, R. D. (2016). Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations. Jossey-Bass.
  • Salamon, L. M. (2012). The State of Nonprofit America. Brookings Institution Press.
  • SHRM. (2020). Human Resources and the Nonprofit Sector. Society for Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/
  • U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Wage and Hour Division (FLSA) guidance. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd
  • U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). USERRA: Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/userra

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