Tangle wood – Strategic Staffing Decisions
Acquire or Develop Talent
With Tanglewood being a culture rich organization, it would be more effective to develop talent internally when possible. Functional competencies can be developed over time, but it much harder to acclimate an employee to the company culture. Internal talent will know how the organization operates strategically in regards to the “how” and not just the “what” of how to accomplish objectives. Internal talent has been acquired because their personal goals and values are in alignment with the current company philosopshy. Also, it is more cost effective to develop internal talent than it would be to source and select external talent. The morale and encouragement from employees in regards to their opportunities internally will keep morale high and the motivation will be higher if employees know that the company values them over external talent.
Hire Yourself or Outsource
When possible, it is recommended that Tangelwood hires as opposed to outsourcing. Again stressing the importance of a culture-rich organization, as much of the talent development process should be internal. An outside organization will be more concerned with the “what” of hiring and not the “how”.
External or Internal Hiring
When job vacancies are created, the organization should first seek to fill these vacancies from an internal labor market. This will allow the organization to create a more stable, committed workforce. This gives employees an opportunity to launch more long-term careers. External hiring should be limited to more entry level or temporary (seasonal) positions.

Core of Flexible Workforce
Stressing the value of the company culture, a core workforce should be utilized more often, if not at all times, as opposed to a flexible workforce. The core workforce is made of individuals who are viewed and view themselves as regular or full-time employees of the organization. There will be times when it will be inevitable that contractors will be needed. Short-term projects and assignments would be the best situation to utilize a flexible workforce.
Hire or Retain
The organization should seek to minimize turnover where possible. This will reduce the need to replace employees and fill vacancies.
National or Global
This will depend on where the organization is located. Wherever the stores are, the company should use that national source of individuals to staff. Overseas outsourcing is discouraged, and customers see service as more sincere when they can speak to and deal with national counterparts.
Attract or Relocate
This should be a mixed strategy where possible. For more entry-level positions, it will be more cost effective to attract talent. For higher level positions and management positions, it will be more effective to relocate, whereas skilled labor is harder to develop, and a culture rich philosophy will follow relocated management talent.
Overstaff or Understaff
Because Tangelwood is a retail environment, it would be more effective to overstaff as opposed to understaff. Because customer-service is premier concept of any retail location, it is better to have more than enough staff on hand than not enough staff on hand at any given time. Fluctuations in retail cycles call for seasonal periods to be heavily staffed, so in these times, it will not be as necessary to hire or attract temporary employees, giving internal employees the chance to gain extra hours or experience.
Short or Long Term Focus
It best to have a balanced mix of short and long term focus, but because of the nature of the retail environment, more often than not, a short-term focus may be most effective, because labor shortages will be detrimental to operations. A long-term focus, however, should also be emphasized in terms of management. This means that an effective talent management process must be in place.
Person/Job or Person/Organization Match
The person/job match is only part of the process. While this match is important from an identification of talent standpoint, this company requires a good person/organization match. Because it is more effective to source internal talent in the long run, hiring people that fit well within the organization will make for an easier talent development process.
Specific or General KSAOs
Focusing on job skills that will be applicable across multiple jobs will be more effective for Tanglewood. Talent development is a critical issue, and in the retail environment, it is most important for employees to be as flexible as possible when handling assignments. In order to be truly customer focused, an employee has to be well rounded enough to see a problem from different angles, using a multi-faceted decision making process.

Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce
Because the clientele of the store is middle to upper class, it will be essential to have an exceptional workforce. Stocking up on the “best and the brightest” will allow Tanglewood to deliver superior performance.
Active or Passive Diversity
The organization should actively pursue diversity in terms of demographics, values, and languages. Any retail environment should be customer focused, and the workforce should be attuned the diverse needs of the client.

REFERENCES – APA Format
Heneman IIIe , H. G., Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2012). Staffing organizations. (Seventh ed., pp. 5-40). Middleton, WI: Mendota House.