BUSINESS PLAN

Executive summary           

Death is inevitable. It signifies the final phase of a human being. Therefore it is important to give the departed a decent sendoff as a way of expressing our respect for the dead. However, according to Wenzel, Wagner, and Koch (2017), most of the funeral homes in the United States are yet to provide quality funeral homes services. The ceremonial services that revolve around death, as offered by a majority of the funeral homes companies in the United States are leaving a significant number of clients unsatisfied with the services. This plan will give an outline plan strategy by which the Rose Funeral Home will bring a new revolution in the funeral home business in Oregon County. The plan also explains in details how the financing that will be acquired will be spent in the end.

The facility will be established as an LLC in the town by November 2018. The main stakeholder will be Marc Davis who is also the owner, a renowned director with experience in management of the funeral homes and a qualified embalmer, active in the community charitable activities. The construction of the Destination funeral and bereavement services will give an opportunity for the people around the town to enjoy dignified services as they celebrate the lives of their loved ones. For the facility to win the reputation of the community, it will need to attract business by engaging in charitable activities that benefit the community.

Management summary

The Organization management is made up of a very experienced and dedicated funeral director and a very active embalmer who has a vast experience in active management of the funeral homes for a period exceeding ten years. Although Destination funeral and bereavement services is an entirely family run business, the management structures will still give room for the business to accommodate few more employees, not members of the family who will work on part-time terms just bring in more creativity into the business however in future they may be permanently employed as the business grows.

 Due to the nature of the business we will also hire very passionate people who are capable of handling bereaved families and not just anybody because they are qualified (Blayac, Bougette, & Montet, 2014). The preferred will be those with impeccable skills in customer relations, people who show compassion, love and can sympathize. These people should also not have problems in the handling of the dead bodies.

The management will also ensure that all the guidelines adhere in the recruiting process and that no mistakes are made since any mistakes can ruin the business even before it takes off. This is the sole reason why we will only insist on the best who have the right mindset that will enable the objective of Destination funeral and bereavement services to be realized within time.

A job description manual and policy documents have already been made and are awaiting the implementation.  It is therefore,  anticipated that throughout the first one year or two, the sales might be less as the organization will be struggling to catch up with the market and also lay a solid foundation for its reputation. The personnel plan requires that the owner is responsible of the administrative functions and sales of the organization in person, however, he may be assisted by some of his family members that he may choose provided they are experienced in service delivery of the funeral homes.

This business is choreographed to satisfy the client’s needs at the same time running in a very smooth and precise manner. For a start and during the first one year the business will entail the following personnel with the director having to do other extra duties.

Personnel plan

The personnel plan during the initial stages for Destination Funeral and Bereavement Services would be as described below:

The owner of the funeral center will assume the role of the director, chief embalmer and the overall cremator. As the business is launched, he will serve as the administrator and salesperson. If the business stabilizes, he will enroll other personnel to take up on some of his duties.  Per year his needs are approximated to about $60,000. After the completion of the financial year, the salaries are anticipated to increase at a rate of about 3% annually.

The salesperson will execute the sales and marketing plan. However, more focus will be on the activities that are nonprofit.  The starting salary will be $31,900 up to the third year where it will increase yearly at a rate of 3%.

The administrative assistants will be employed on a half-time basis at the start of year three at a rate of $13.50 per hour. Their main duties will entail the bookkeeping, making of the invoices, payroll checking and bill paying for other administrative jobs. However, beginning November 2018 the hours are anticipated to double and thus will be employed on a full-time basis.

One Half-time staff member will be employed at the start of November 2018 and increase the figure into two by 2019. The main duties of these staff members will be mainly driving the hearse to the various funeral destinations and the pick-ups. They will assist in other funeral activities and give feedback to the director as requested by the clients. The initial position of the halftime staff will commence at $13300 yearly and increase to the full-time rates by November of 2018 where the annual increase will be at a rate of 3% annually. The second position of staff will commence in November 2018 at $26345 and a yearly raise of three percent.

However, after the business has established we intend to change Destination funeral and bereavement services to the following personnel structure:

Chief Executive Officer

The director of the Funeral Home

Human Resource also the Administrative Manager

Accountant

Morticians and Undertakers

Marketing Executives on contract basis

Cleaner-On full-time basis

Security personnel

Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer

The CEO will ensure the effectiveness of the whole management robustness through recruiting process, the selection, training of the staff counseling, handling discipline issues among the managers, strategizing, monitoring, planning and involved in all the major decision-making process of the Destination Funeral and Bereavement Services.

The CEO will take the responsibility of implementing and communicating the company’s vision and mission. The CEO will also take the challenge of bargaining deals and the fixing of prices. The signing of the checks on behalf of the company will also be the sole responsibility of the CEO. Finally, the CEO will evaluate the overall success of Destination Funeral and Bereavement Services.

Funeral Home Director

The director will obtain all the information that will be needed for the completion of the legal burial processes. The director will cross check documents such as burial permits and death certificates. It will be the responsibility of the Director to oversee the care and preparation of the bodies. Director will also take part in consulting with the bereaved families on issues entailing selection of caskets and other grave receptacles.

Director will also advise families on how to effectively plan burial and organize the obituaries. Arranging of how the clergy members will conduct their services at the facility will also entail the attention of the director. The director will train the junior staffs, receive visitors, and train the pallbearers of the bereaved families on how to carry the casket. Finally, he will file the death certificates among other legal documents.

Morticians

They will be involved in the various activities of the funeral, for instance, the transportation of the bodies to the mortuary, practice care of the dead bodies, and perform the embalming duties when authorized, closing of the caskets and leading the corteges to the burial sites. They will also prepare the body for viewing.

Human Resource manager

The human resource manager will oversee the smooth running of the HR department, organize training, conduct staff induction, evaluate and assess the employees.

Marketing and sales executive

The marketing executive will be on contract basis. The main responsibility of the marketing executive will be to conduct market research surveys and feasibility studies that will enable the business to succeed in the industry. The overall objective of this post is to increase sales and enhance the growth of Destination Funeral and Bereavement Services

Cashier/ Accountant

They will prepare the financial reports and make the financial statements of the facility. They will also administer payroll, ensure tax compliance, handle all the financial transactions and act as internal auditors.

Cleaners/ washers

The will do all the cleaning of the funeral home, handle laundry and take care of the environment.

Security officer

It is their duty to ensure the security of the facility at all the times, direct visitors, control traffic, patrol the facility, handle security report and advise on all security issues.

References

Blayac, T., Bougette, P., & Montet, C. (2014). How consumer information curtails market power in the funeral industry. European Journal of Law and Economics, 37(3), 421-437.

Wenzel, M., Wagner, H. T., & Koch, J. (2017). The funeral industry and the Internet: On the historical emergence and destabilization of strategic paths. European Journal of Information Systems, 26(4), 361-378.