Home Depot’s new human resources chief, Tim Crow, has been given a challenge to fix two of the most pressing issues facing the Atlanta-based retailer: meeting an aggressive recruitment target of 15,000 hires, and overcoming customer service problems in stores.

Home Depot’s busy spring and summer season is coming, and the retailer—which already employs 355,000 workers in its 2,171 stores—plans to recruit 15,000 new employees for a variety of part-time and full-time positions in sales, operations and specialty departments.

The recruitment goals are just a start. In order to improve service levels in the stores, Crow will need to reduce the ratio of part-time workers. Only 20% of Home Depot’s current workforce is full-time, which has had an adverse effect on customer service, according to Jeff Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management. He says that part-time workers have higher turnover and lack deep expertise, which can be drawbacks in the workplace.

Robert Nardelli’s centralization policy that was put in place in 2000 saved the company money and made it more efficient, but it also eroded the entrepreneurial spirit which had been a strong part of Home Depot’s culture. Service took the hardest hit.

Home Depot also needs to improve levels of service in stores by bolstering training and empowering workers. Sonnenfeld says that this can be a real turning point for the company. The opportunity is there to bring back creativity, enthusiasm, and a sense of ownership. If the company can get its “people” issues in order, financial success should follow.