| Course | GB520 Strategic Human Resource Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Workforce planning paper |
| Length | About 1,310 words, 7 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GB520 Unit 3
Triple the CO2 Installations, Find the People: A Unit 3 Workforce Planning Paper for a Refrigeration Contractor
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GB520: Strategic Human Resource Management
Unit 3 Workforce Planning Paper
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The contractor, its headcounts, rates and plans are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
The Plan Behind the Numbers
Kestrel Refrigeration Services, a contractor working for grocers and cold-storage operators across Minnesota and Wisconsin, plans to open an Illinois branch next year. Grocers are replacing older systems as federal rules phase down hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, and many are choosing transcritical carbon dioxide (CO2) systems. Kestrel installed 14 CO2 systems last year and plans 22, 32 and 42 over the next three years, tripling the work. It also expects the number of CO2 systems under its service contracts to grow from 30 to 126.
The plan was written by sales and finance. This paper asks whether Kestrel can staff it.
Exhibit 1: Demand
Demand is built from two sources of work, installation and service, using ratios from Kestrel's last three years of jobs.
Installation crews. A CO2 supermarket system takes a crew of one lead technician, two journeyman technicians and two apprentices about seven months from rough-in to startup, so one crew completes about 1.75 systems a year. Planned installations therefore need 8 crews now, then 13, 18 and 24.
Service. One lead technician who can troubleshoot CO2 systems is needed for about every 65 systems under contract, and the firm's older refrigerant systems need a steady 48 journeymen for service.
Project management. One project manager is needed for about every four crews.
From those ratios, demand by year is:
Lead technicians: 9 now; 14, 20 and 26 in years one to three.
Journeyman technicians: 64 now; 74, 84 and 96.
Apprentices: 16 now; 26, 36 and 48.
Project managers: 2 now; 4, 5 and 6.
Exhibit 2: Supply
Supply is projected from a transition matrix built from last year's records, showing what share of people in each role stayed, moved up or left:
Apprentices: 55 percent remained apprentices, 25 percent completed and became journeymen, and 20 percent left.
Journeymen: 78 percent stayed, 3 percent became lead technicians, and 19 percent left.
Lead technicians: 88 percent stayed and 12 percent left.
Project managers: 85 percent stayed and 15 percent left.
Kestrel currently hires about 8 journeymen and 8 apprentices a year and no outside leads or project managers. Applying the matrix forward with that hiring, supply in year one is about 10 leads, 62 journeymen, 17 apprentices and 2 project managers. By year three it is about 11 leads, 60 journeymen, 18 apprentices and 1 project manager. Current practice keeps the firm roughly where it is while the work triples.
Exhibit 3: The Gap by Role and Year
Lead technicians: short about 4 in year one, 10 in year two and 15 in year three.
Journeymen: short about 12, 24 and 37.
Apprentices: short about 9, 19 and 31.
Project managers: short about 2, 4 and 5.
In year two, Kestrel would have about 10 qualified leads for 20 crews and service territories, so half the planned work would have no one able to start it up.
The lead gap matters most even though the journeyman gap is larger in headcount. A crew without a journeyman can borrow one from a subcontractor; a CO2 system without a qualified lead cannot be commissioned, and the customer's store cannot open its new cases. The lead role is what Lepak and Snell (1999) call core human capital: high in value to the firm's strategy and specific to how the firm does its work.
Exhibit 4: Job Analysis of the CO2 Lead Technician
The lead role was analyzed through interviews with five current leads, review of twelve startup records and observation of two commissioning days.
Main tasks: plan the startup sequence; pressure-test and evacuate piping that operates at design pressures above 1,500 pounds per square inch; set the high-pressure and gas-cooler controls; tune the rack across seasons; train store staff; direct the crew; and document the startup for the customer and the manufacturer.
Knowledge: CO2 refrigeration cycles, including transcritical operation in warm weather; controls and electrical; refrigerant handling rules for the older systems leads still service; and safety practice for high-pressure work.
Skills: reading mechanical and electrical drawings, diagnosing faults under time pressure and explaining problems to store managers.
Credentials: a journeyman refrigeration license where the jurisdiction requires one, federal refrigerant handling certification for the older systems, and manufacturer training on the CO2 racks Kestrel installs.
Experience: in Kestrel's records, journeymen who became effective leads had assisted on at least three CO2 startups and had about five years of refrigeration work.
The analysis shows that the lead role can be built from within. The knowledge is learnable, the experience can be planned and the credentials are within reach of Kestrel's best journeymen. What the current system lacks is a route: only 3 percent of journeymen move up each year, mostly by chance assignment to a CO2 job.
Build, Buy and Borrow
Cappelli (2008) argues that firms should treat talent planning like supply chain planning: build what is core and predictable, buy what is needed quickly, and borrow to cover uncertain peaks. Kestrel's roles fit that frame.
Build: lead technicians and apprentices. A CO2 lead program would assign selected journeymen to three supervised startups and manufacturer training each year, raising promotion from 3 percent to about 7 percent, or roughly five new leads a year. Apprentice intake would rise from 8 to 22 a year through a registered apprenticeship run with a community college's refrigeration program.
Buy: experienced leads, journeymen and project managers. Kestrel would hire two or three experienced CO2 leads a year from equipment manufacturers' service teams and other contractors, about 18 journeymen a year including apprentices who complete, and two project managers a year until it has six.
Borrow: journeyman capacity during the transition. Even with that hiring, the model leaves Kestrel about 6 journeymen short in year one, 9 in year two and 15 in year three, because apprentices take about four years to complete. A mechanical subcontractor's pipefitting crews can fill that gap during installation season under Kestrel's leads, shrinking as the apprentice classes progress.
With the plan in place, the model shows about 15 leads in year one, 20 in year two and 26 in year three, meeting demand. Apprentices meet demand through year two and fall about 5 short in year three. Project managers meet demand each year.
Assumptions and Sensitivity
The model rests on four assumptions. Turnover stays near last year's rates. Crews keep their pace of 1.75 systems a year. The lead program raises promotion as planned. And the sales plan holds.
Each can fail. If lead turnover rose from 12 to 20 percent, Kestrel would lose about two more leads a year, and the lead program would need to graduate seven rather than five. If installations reached only 32 a year by year three, demand for leads would fall to about 20, and the borrow lever would shrink first, which is why it is the lever chosen to absorb uncertainty. Boxall and Purcell (2022) note that workforce plans are most useful when they are revised as conditions change, and this one should be rerun each quarter against actual sales and turnover.
Conclusion
Kestrel's growth plan cannot be staffed with today's hiring and promotion practices. The binding role is the CO2 lead technician, short by about half in year two. A program that builds leads from Kestrel's own journeymen, supported by targeted outside hiring and borrowed crews during the transition, can close that gap by year three. The plan also sets up the questions the following units take up: how to recruit, select, train, pay and keep the people it depends on.
References
Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2022). Strategy and human resource management (5th ed.). Bloomsbury.
Cappelli, P. (2008). Talent on demand: Managing talent in an age of uncertainty. Harvard Business Press.
Lepak, D. P., & Snell, S. A. (1999). The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, 24(1), 31-48. https://doi.org/10.2307/259035
Reading the GB 520 Unit 3 instructions
In GB520 Unit 3 you develop a workforce plan tied to an organization's strategy. Model demand by role and year from the strategic plan, using ratios drawn from the organization's work. Model internal supply with a transition matrix showing who stays, moves and leaves, projected forward with current hiring. Set demand against supply by role and year and identify the most important gap. Include a job analysis of the role the plan depends on, covering tasks, knowledge, skills, credentials and experience. Then propose a mix of building, buying and borrowing talent, show what it achieves, and test the plan's key assumptions. Support the plan with strategic human resource sources in APA 7.
Inside the GB520 Unit 3 example
The paper sets out Kestrel's plan for 22, 32 and 42 CO2 installations. Exhibit 1 converts installations into crews and service territories, giving demand by role. Exhibit 2's transition matrix projects supply at current hiring, and Exhibit 3 shows gaps of about 10 leads, 24 journeymen and 19 apprentices in year two; the highlighted sentence states what the lead gap means for the work, citing Lepak and Snell on core human capital. Exhibit 4 analyzes the lead role from interviews, records and observation. Following Cappelli, the plan builds leads and apprentices, buys journeymen and managers, and borrows crews, reaching 26 leads by year three. Sensitivity closes with Boxall and Purcell. The sensitivity section shows how higher lead turnover or slower sales would change the plan, and explains why borrowed crews absorb the uncertainty first.
Where the points sit in the GB520 Unit 3 rubric
GB520 instructors grade this paper on demand derived from strategy, supply modeled with movement and a plan that closes the gap it finds. Demand ratios should come from the organization's work. A transition matrix projected forward earns credit. Identifying which gap matters most, not only which is largest, shows judgment. A job analysis that explains why the role the plan depends on is hard to fill carries significant weight. Build, buy and borrow options should be matched to roles and checked against demand. Testing assumptions completes the plan. In APA 7 the paper relies on Lepak and Snell's architecture, Cappelli's talent supply chain and Boxall and Purcell on strategy.
GB520 Unit 3 help from the desk
Many GB520 Unit 3 papers forecast total headcount without breaking it down by role and year. Others project supply as today's headcount, ignoring turnover and promotion. A common gap is priority: the role with the largest numerical gap is not always the one that stops the work. Some writers propose solutions without showing that they close the gap. Derive demand from the plan, model supply with a transition matrix, compare by role and year, analyze the job the plan depends on, choose options by role and report what the plan achieves. Rerunning the model under a weaker sales case shows the reader which lever absorbs uncertainty.
Get a GB520 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Workforce plans rest on a strategy, so include the growth goals the Unit 3 scenario gives, or a generalized picture of a firm you have worked in, plus the rubric. A plan holding demand, supply, gaps by role and matched actions, every assumption stated, arrives inside 24-48h. Your first plan costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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GB520 Unit 3 questions, answered
What is a transition matrix?
A table showing the share of people in each role last year who stayed, moved to another role or left. Multiplying current headcount by those shares projects internal supply forward. The example builds one from composite data for apprentices, journeymen, crew leads and project managers. It is sometimes called a Markov analysis, and it works best with several years of history.
Can the plan cover a different industry?
Yes. The logic transfers anywhere strategy drives demand for specific skills: a hospital adding a service line, a retailer opening stores, a software firm moving into a regulated market. What stays constant is demand derived from the strategy, supply modeled with movement, gaps by role and actions matched to lead time.
Where can I find a free GB520 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page carries a full GB520 Unit 3 workforce planning paper for a refrigeration contractor, with demand by role, a transition matrix, gaps by year, a job analysis and a build, buy and borrow plan, with APA 7 references.
Why does the lead gap matter more than the larger journeyman gap?
A crew short of a journeyman can borrow one from a subcontractor, but a CO2 system without a qualified lead cannot be commissioned, so the store cannot open its new cases on time.
What does the job analysis add to the plan?
It shows that the lead role's knowledge and experience can be developed in Kestrel's own journeymen, which supports building leads internally and explains why the current 3 percent promotion rate is the real problem.