This Document Contains Chapters 5 to 7 Chapter 5: Forecasting and Planning LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this chapter, you should be able to: • Describe the workforce planning process. • Discuss how an organization can predict its future business activity • Describe how an organization can forecast its demand for workers. • Explain how to forecast the likely supply of available workers from inside and outside the firm. • Discuss how to develop action plans to address gaps between labor supply and labor demand. • Describe the staffing planning process. TAKEAWAY POINTS 1. The workforce planning process starts with the firm’s business strategy. After articulating the firm’s talent philosophy and strategic staffing decisions, a workforce analysis is then conducted to forecast both labor demand and labor supply, and to identify any gaps between the two. Action plans consistent with the firm’s talent philosophy are then created to address any gaps. The action plans are then monitored, evaluated, and revised as the firm’s environment changes. 2. An organization can predict its future business activity by using seasonal forecasts, interest rate forecasts, currency exchange rate forecasts, competitor forecasts, industry and economic forecasts, and other methods, such as whether it is entering or exiting a business. 3. An organization can use ratio analysis, scatter plots, trend analysis, or judgmental forecasting to determine its demand for workers. 4. To forecast its internal labor supply, firms can use transition analysis, judgment, talent inventories and replacement charts, and employee surveys. To forecast its external supply of workers, a firm can rely on their own observations and experiences or monitor labor market statistics generated by others, such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 5. Action plans proactively address anticipated surpluses or shortages of employees and should always be consistent with the firm’s business strategy, talent philosophy, and HR strategy. 6. The staffing planning process addresses how many people to recruit, what resources are needed, and how much time it will take to hire. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. If forecasting is rarely exact, why should a firm bother doing it? Answer: Forecasting may not always be right, but being prepared is better than being surprised. Preparing a range of low, high, and likely estimates will improve the accuracy of the forecast. Personal budgeting is also often imperfect, but should it be neglected? Similar answers apply to staffing forecasting. 2. What labor force trends might influence a firm’s staffing planning, in your opinion? Answer: Answers often include an aging workforce, globalization pressures, skills shortages, and an immigration backlash in the U.S. High gas and transportation prices that may make it difficult for lower-income workers to afford a lengthy commute can also create labor supply issues. 3. How can contingent employees help organizations prepare for anticipated surpluses or shortages of workers? Answer: By working only when the firm needs them, contingent employees can enable the company to scale up or down quickly. If a firm expects a future surplus of workers it might start replacing departing employees with contingent employees who can be let go when they are no longer needed. This would be less upsetting to survivor morale than if the firm had to later do layoffs or downsize. If the firm expects a future shortage of workers, it might be able to use contingent employees as a way of employing the skills and talents it needs. Many independent contractors prefer not to work full-time for a single firm. Employing them as contingent workers may be the only way the company can hire them at all. 4. If your boss asked you how investing more resources in forecasting and planning could help the organization compete better, what would you say? Answer: Answers include having a more appropriate headcount and avoiding the costs associated with both a surplus and shortage of workers. If forecasting shows an expected future surplus of workers, it can be planned for, avoiding the negative publicity and lower employee morale following a hasty future downsizing. If forecasting shows an expected shortage of important skills, addressing the shortage will be critical to the company’s ability to perform in a few years. Forecasting and planning help a firm put the right talent in the right place at the right time, which is critical in enabling the firm to execute its business strategy and compete successfully in the marketplace. 5. What would happen if a firm did not engage in staffing planning? Answer: It would be subject to many surprises as trends change. It would be unprepared for both surpluses and shortages, and would be regularly reacting to labor market events. This would decrease its ability to always have the right people in the right jobs at the right time, and decrease its competitiveness. EXERCISES 1. Strategy Exercise: Registered nurses are in short supply in the United States—a situation that it is expected to worsen. It is predicted that the demand for U.S. nursing services will exceed supply by nearly 30 percent in 2020. Many registered nurses are approaching retirement age, and the nursing profession is facing difficulties attracting new entrants and retaining existing nurses. In addition, nursing schools have been unable to expand fast enough to supply enough additional nurses. Working in a group of three to five students, research the severity of the nursing shortage, if any, in your area. Then develop an action plan to strategically address a nursing shortage in your area (even if one doesn’t exist in your area). What are your suggestions for improving the quantity and quality of available nurses over the next two decades? Be prepared to share your answers with the class. Answer: Students should have used sources such as O*Net, the BLS, and state labor market sources to forecast the future supply of nurses in the area chosen. The action plan should address the availability of nursing education, as this is an important part of the nursing pipeline problem. The action plan should also address the supply of people interested in a nursing career, including both new entrants to the field of nursing, as well as possibly moving people from related occupations. To address the nursing shortage in our area, we propose the following action plan: 1. Expand Nursing Education: Partner with local colleges to increase enrollment and program capacity, while offering scholarships and financial incentives to attract students. 2. Enhance Retention: Improve working conditions by offering better salaries, mental health support, and career advancement opportunities to retain experienced nurses. 3. Leverage Technology: Implement telehealth and AI tools to optimize nurse workflows and patient care efficiency. 4. Promote the Profession: Launch targeted outreach campaigns in high schools and communities to raise awareness about the nursing career and its benefits. These steps aim to increase both the quantity and quality of nurses in our region over the next two decades. 2. Opening Vignette Exercise: The opening vignette describes the workforce planning process at Black Hills Corporation. One of the biggest planning challenges the company identified was retaining its experienced employees, particularly for its highly specialized skill needs that are difficult to find and for technical positions in which it takes longer for new hires to become productive. Because experienced employees are critical to Black Hills’ ability to operate efficiently, it must retain as many workers as it can, and also ensure that their knowledge is transferred completely to new employees. The company’s growth strategy also means that its need for employees is increasing. Working in a group of three to five students, develop action plans for Black Hills to both retain its existing employees and ensure the complete transfer of knowledge to its new hires. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class. Answer: Retention can be increased by implementing retention incentives including delayed retirement incentives and stock options or bonuses that require employees to stay a certain period of time before they receive them, surveying employees to identify why they might leave and then addressing these issues, and ensuring that the total rewards package it offers is competitive. Identifying why recently departed employees left might also suggest ways Black Hills can increase its attractiveness to its employees. Mentoring, hiring people before they are needed to ensure their skills are developed before current employees retire, training, and hiring people who already have key skills are likely parts of students’ action plans to transfer knowledge to new hires. 3. Develop Your Skills Exercise: This chapter’s Develop Your Skills feature contains numerous Web addresses for different labor supply forecasts. Working alone, use these and any other relevant resources to forecast the supply of labor for a job in your chosen career path. Write a one-page report summarizing your forecast and present a brief action plan to address any forecasted surpluses or shortages for this position. Answer: The report should be focused on the student’s desired career, and the action plan should be realistic. After analyzing labor supply forecasts for the chosen career path, I identified a projected shortage of skilled professionals over the next five years. To address this, my action plan includes enhancing recruitment efforts through targeted outreach, investing in employee training and development programs, and partnering with educational institutions to build a talent pipeline. This proactive approach will help mitigate potential shortages and ensure a steady supply of qualified candidates. ADDITIONAL EXERCISE Thank you to Professor Barbara Rau of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for providing this exercise. Using the following information to answer the questions. Two years ago, a new Recruitment Manager was hired at Badger Care, a transportation services company specializing in the transportation of disabled individuals. She began to track recruitment and hiring statistics and found that over the last two-year period, Badger Care had the following historical record: Total Applicants Meets Minimal Qualifs. Phone Interviewed Interviewed Job Offer Accepted Job 6 Month Survival 323 259 115 52 40 37 26 A. Badger Care, needs to hire 20 new drivers by the end of the year. What number should they target for recruitment (i.e., how many applicants should they try to obtain)? Answer: The overall yield ratio is 37/323 = 11.45%. If x=the number of applicants, then (x) (.1145) = 20 x = 20/(.1145) = 174.67 total applicants should be recruited B. How many phone interviews should they be prepared to hold? Answer: Of 323 total applicants, 115 were phone-interviewed so the yield ratio of interviewees to applicants is 115/323 = 35.60%. If 175 total applicants are recruited then they should be prepared to hold (175)(.356) = 62.3 interviews C. How many of those 20 drivers can they expect to remain drivers after 6 months? Answer: 26 of the 37 applicants who accepted jobs remained after 6 months and 26/37 = 70.27%. (20)(.7027) = 14 drivers should remain after 6 months. BONUS Question: Badger Care found that running a large newspaper ad for one week costs about $3000 and typically results in 282 applicants and 13 job acceptances. However, paying employees a referral bonus of $150 for each applicant results in about 30 applicants and 28 job acceptances. What are the respective costs per new hire for these sources of recruitment? Costs per new hire for newspapers = $3000/(13 new hires) = $230.77/new hire by newspaper Costs per new hire for referrals = ($150*30)/(28 new hires) = $160.71/new hire by referrals ADDITIONAL EXERCISE Labor Markets, EEO, Affirmative Action Thank you to Professor Barbara Rau of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for providing this exercise. Use the following table of labor market statistics for the state during the last year to answer questions 1 through 3: 1. What was the change in the state unemployment rate between January and December? Answer: ur,Jan = 192.3/3067.5 = 6.27% ur,Dec = 146.0/3068.6 = 4.76% Δur = (4.76 – 6.27)/6.27 = -.24 or a 24% decrease in the unemployment rate; alternatively one could state that the unemployment rate dropped by 1.51 percentage points. 2. The last population census shows the state population (age 16 and older) as approximately 5,280,785. Assuming the population has remained stable, estimate the number of workers in the labor reserve July of this year. Answer: Labor reserve = Population – Civilian labor force = 5,280,785 – 3,168,000 = 2,112,785 3. Plot the Civilian labor force and number employed by month on a chart and compare the trends. Draw a line that minimizes the total distance of the points through it, and use that line to determine the predicted unemployment rate in March of the next year. Answer: expected employment level next March = 2,980,000 expected civilian labor force next March = 3,105,000 expected unemployed next March = 3105 – 2980 = 125,000 expected ur = (125,000/3,105,000) = 4% 4. Last year the state reported 2,549,000 (seasonally adjusted) employed workers. Of those, 414,000 reported being members of a labor union and 2,135,000 reported that they were not members of a labor union. What is the estimated rate of unionization in the state last year? Answer: ur = (414,000/2,549,000) = 16.24% Economy Printing is a small printing company located in Dane Co., Wisconsin. The company has four key press positions. Use the following tables illustrating the distribution of printing occupations in to answer questions 5 through 10. Dane County Occupation Total Females Minorities Press Machine Operators 160 54 31 Prepress Technicians 225 50 18 Job Printers 290 65 40 Printing Machine Operators 683 75 10 Economy Printing Occupation Total Females Minorities Press Machine Operators 12 1 1 Prepress Technicians 16 5 1 Job Printers 21 3 7 Printing Machine Operators 50 4 1 5. Calculate the labor market availability rates for minorities in each of the positions: Answer: Dane County Occupation Total Minorities ravail,min Press Machine Operators 160 31 31/160 = 19.4% Prepress Technicians 225 18 18/225 = 8.0% Job Printers 290 40 40/290 = 13.8% Printing Machine Operators 683 10 10/683 = 1.5% 6. Calculate the workforce utilization rates for minorities at Economy Printing: Answer: Economy Printing Occupation Total Minorities rutil,min Press Machine Operators 12 1 1/12 = 8.3% Prepress Technicians 16 1 1/16 = 6.3% Job Printers 21 7 7/21 = 33.3% Printing Machine Operators 50 1 1/50 = 2.0% 7. Compare the tables from questions 5 and 6 to determine if there is any evidence of discrimination against minorities at Economy Printing? Discrimination is established by comparing Economy Printing’s internal workforce statistics to the available labor market statistics. The employer’s workforce utilization must be at least 80% of the labor market availability: Answer: Dane County Occupation Min Avail Rate 80% ravail,min rutil,min Press Machine Operators 31/160 = 19.4% .8(19.4) =15.5% 8.3% Prepress Technicians 18/225 = 8.0% .8(8.0) =6.4% 6.3% Job Printers 40/290 = 13.8% .8(13.8) =11% 33.3% Printing Machine Operators 10/683 = 1.5% .8(1.5) =1.2% 2.0% The figures in bold, italics indicate occupations in which minorities are currently underutilized. 8. Assuming the total number of press machine operators stays the same, how many female press machine operators would Economy Printing need to have to be within 80% of the workforce availability rate? Answer: ravail,females = 54/160 = 33.7% rutil,females = 1/12 = 8.3% To be within 80% of the workforce availability rate, Economy Printing would need (.80)(33.7%) = 27% of its press operators to be female. Economy Printing currently has 12 press machine operators so (.27)(12) = 3.24 so it needs to have 4 female press operators to bring Economy Printing above the 80% mark. 9. Economy Printing advertised for prepress technicians and received applications from 42 qualified applicants. 10 of these were female candidates. Economy Printing hired 3 press machine operators, 1 female and 2 males. Is there evidence of discrimination in Economy Printing’s selection procedures? Answer: Evidence of discrimination in selection procedures can be found by examining the selection ratio of females and comparing it to that of males: Occupation Male Selection Ratio 80% Male Selection Ratio Female Selection Ratio Prepress Technicians 2/32 = 6.25 6.25 * .8 = 7.81 1/10 = .1 Since the female selection ratio is greater than 80% of the male selection ratio, there is no evidence of discrimination in Economy Printing’s most recent hiring process. 10. What are the new workforce utilization rates for males and females in Prepress Technicians positions and does Economy Printing now meet the labor market availability target? Answer: Economy Printing Occupation Total Fems rutil,fem Males rutil,male Prepress Technicians 19 6 6/19 = 31.6% 17 13/19 = 68.4% Yes, since 10.5 > 6.4% (from question #7). CASE STUDY Sweet Tooth Inc. is experiencing growing demand for its new line of candy and needs to add a new production line of 50 workers. You are the company’s newly hired vice president of human resources. Your first task is to develop a staffing plan for this new production line. The company’s historical staffing yields for its production line positions are as follows: • 20 percent of applicants are invited for interviews. • 80 percent of interview invitations are accepted. • 15 percent of the people interviewed are extended job offers. • 50 percent of the people receiving job offers accept them. • The company’s average recruiter can process 100 recruits during a recruiting drive. • The company’s staffing timeline the last time it hired production line employees is: Questions: 1. How many people should Sweet Tooth recruit for its 50 new assembly line jobs? Answer: 4,163 applicants are needed given its historical staffing yields. 4,163 × .2 = 832.6 833 × .8 = 666 666 × .15 = 99.9 100 × .5 = 50 2. Using workload-driven forecasting, how many recruiters are needed for the staffing effort? Answer: 41 or 42 depending on whether the firm wants to run a little lean, or with a fraction above the forecasted need of 41.63 recruiters 3. How long will it take to staff the new production line? Answer: 42 days plus the time it takes to generate the 4,163 applicants. SEMESTER-LONG ACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT Continue working on the job analysis and competency model for the position. Also, describe the position’s relevant labor market(s) and provide a forecast of the future labor supply for the position. Develop an approximate timeline covering the period from job posting to the new hire beginning work. Chapter 6: Sourcing: Identifying Recruits LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this chapter, you should be able to: • Describe the role of sourcing in the staffing process. • Explain what makes one recruiting source more effective than another. • List alternative recruiting sources and match them with specific jobs. • Create a sourcing plan. • Explain how to best source nontraditional applicant pools. • Explain the role geographic targeting plays in the sourcing process. TAKEAWAY POINTS 1. Sourcing is done to identify and locate high-potential people who will later be recruited by the firm. The quality and quantity of a company’s new hires and the firm’s return on its staffing investment are affected by its sourcing decisions. 2. Recruiting sources differ on many dimensions, including their cost, the quality of the recruits they generate, the time it takes to hire, the number of hires they generate, the types of talent they generate, and the diversity of the applicants and new hires they generate. 3. Different recruiting sources are appropriate for different types of positions. Sourcing executive talent might involve global targeting, search firms, and raiding competitors. Sourcing talent for a manufacturing line might involve local targeting, employee referrals, relationships with local schools, and job fairs. 4. A sourcing plan prioritizes different recruiting sources based on their ability to help the firm reach its staffing goals. Staffing goals aimed at hiring speed and low-cost hiring are likely to result in a sourcing plan that prioritizes newspaper ads and employee referrals over search firms and college recruiting efforts. 5. Sourcing nontraditional applicant pools can require more creative sourcing activities. A key component is identifying where and how people with the desired characteristics can be reached so that a recruitment effort can be developed to effectively target them. 6. Geographic targeting helps firms restrict their sourcing activities to geographic locations likely to generate promising applicant leads. Firms usually source talent in local labor markets to fill lower-level positions. By contrast, the geographic boundaries for a sourcing effort tend to widen the higher up the position is in the organization’s hierarchy. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What could an organization do to be a more appealing employer to people with disabilities? Answer: Accommodating their disabilities in advance could be appealing, as could employing people with disabilities in important positions. Providing mentoring and training programs as well as publicly stating that the company welcomes people with disabilities to apply for positions can also be attractive. The more individuals with disabilities a company employs, the more other people with disabilities will find the employer attractive. 2. What sourcing strategies do you think would be most effective for finding entry-level managers for an on-campus, fast-food restaurant? Why? Answer: Answers differ and can be fairly creative. Finding effective current employees to promote, finding effective assistant managers at local restaurants for whom the position would be a promotion, and targeting management students could all be effective sourcing strategies. For sourcing entry-level managers for an on-campus fast-food restaurant, consider these strategies: 1. Campus Recruiting: Partner with university career services to target students with relevant experience or interest in management roles. 2. Internships and Co-op Programs: Offer internships that could lead to permanent management positions, providing hands-on experience and a talent pool. 3. Job Fairs and Networking Events: Participate in campus job fairs to connect with potential candidates in person. 4. Employee Referrals: Encourage current employees to refer qualified peers or classmates, leveraging their networks for reliable candidates. These strategies effectively tap into the university’s talent pool and leverage existing networks. 3. If a firm wanted to recruit people like you, how could they best identify you and where could they put a recruiting message where you are likely to see and respond to it? Answer: Answers vary but are generally good at generating conversation around creating sourcing strategies. To recruit someone like me, a firm could utilize data-driven strategies such as targeting industry-specific online forums, professional social networks like LinkedIn, and relevant online communities. Additionally, leveraging job boards and attending industry conferences or webinars where I am active would increase the likelihood of encountering their recruiting message and engaging with it. 4. What could go wrong if a firm only sources recruits using one method? Answer: Ideas include a homogeneity of ideas and knowledge, a lack of demographic diversity, missing out on good talent elsewhere, and risking not having enough talent in the pipeline if that one method loses its effectiveness. 5. How might a company’s preferred recruiting sources differ when it is looking for local retail managers versus doing a national search for managerial talent? Answer: Local recruiting sources might include more employee referrals, print ads in local publications, Internet ads on local Web sites, and advertising at local events and schools. A national search could involve more Internet sourcing, search firms, and advertising on national job boards and in national publications. EXERCISES 1. Strategy exercise: Ringtone and Phones-R-Us are both successful companies in the cellular phone retail sales business. On the one hand, Phones-R-Us pursues a low-cost strategy and has fairly high employee turnover rates. The firm relies on a high volume of phone sales to generate revenue. On the other hand, Ringtone pursues a competitive advantage based on customer intimacy and has very loyal employees. Ringtone sells expensive, high-quality phones and relies on its employees to provide high-quality customer service to generate sales. The sales representatives for both companies “bring in the bacon.” As such, these people are a key factor to the firms’ success. How should each company source recruits for the position? Answer: Because Phones-R-Us has a low-cost strategy and relies on high sales volume, its salespeople do less customer service and more administrative work processing transactions. Their skills are therefore lower, and its low cost strategy suggests that it doesn’t pay well compared to the market. Accordingly, it might recruit effectively using employee referrals, print ads, in-store ads, ads on local Internet sites, and ads in local publications. Because Ringtone needs higher customer service skills, it is likely to be more selective and therefore more targeted in its recruiting. It might find employee referrals to be effective, and it might source effective salespeople from other customer service oriented retail stores. Creative sourcing and keeping an eye out for customers with the potential to be good sales associates might also be effective. 2. Develop Your Skills Exercise: This chapter’s Develop Your Skills feature contains information about performing a Boolean search to identify passive job seekers. Adapt the Boolean terms presented in the feature, and do your own search to identify at least three recruiters in your area. Answer: If students have trouble with this exercise it is usually because of typographical errors in their search and a failure to identify appropriate key words for their search. Using Boolean search terms like “recruiter AND [your city]” on LinkedIn or Google, I identified three recruiters in my area: [Recruiter Name 1] specializing in [industry], [Recruiter Name 2] focusing on [job function], and [Recruiter Name 3] known for [expertise]. These recruiters can be targeted for networking or job opportunities. 3. Opening Vignette Exercise: This chapter’s opening vignette illustrated how McAfee created a more engaged talent community to improve its sourcing of top talent. If you had to choose only three metrics for McAfee to use to evaluate the effectiveness of its talent community in sourcing top talent, what would they be? Why did you choose them? What other ideas do you have about how McAfee can keep its talent pipeline full of high quality potential job applicants? Answer: The choice of three metrics depends on the students, and their justification for their choice should parallel chapter content. If McAfee learns that some of its recruiters are consistently better than others, it should profile those recruiters to hire more of them, identify why they are better and train others in their techniques, and assign those recruiters to the most important staffing initiatives. ADDITIONAL EXERCISE Interview 2-3 people who hold the same job and profile them. From the information you collect, generate sourcing strategies for this job. Answers vary depending on the job but should reflect chapter content. ADDITIONAL EXERCISE Realistic Job Previews Fresh Foods, Inc. is a thriving business in a large metropolitan area of over 500,000 people that prepares and delivers hot meals. Customers must call 24 hours in advance to select the meal and select a time for the meal to be delivered. Recently, the company has had trouble recruiting drivers to deliver the meals. The four-line advertisements in the local newspaper no longer seem to attract enough drivers. In response to this situation, Fresh Foods, Inc. proposes to conduct a mass mailing campaign where a recruitment brochure will be sent to each person’s home in the metropolitan area by bulk mail. They hope that this will improve upon their hiring rates for drivers. The following job requirements and rewards exist for the driver’s job. Drivers must (a) be over 18 years of age, (b) have their own automobile to use, (c) possess a valid driver’s license, (d) have auto insurance, (e) have a good driving record (lost no more than three points off record in last year), (f) be able to read maps and make change, and (g) be courteous. No previous delivery experience is required. The job is part-time, varying between 10 and 30 hours per week, depending on business needs. Driving occurs between 4 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., seven days a week. The wage is $9.00 per hour plus tips. Tips are highly variable; about 25% of customers provide no tip, 50% provide some tip, and 25% provide tips of 15+%. Drivers are provided one week of training (they are trained by an experienced driver), after which they must pass a ride-along test conducted by the owner of Fresh Foods. There is a meal allowance, in which drivers may purchase any items on the menu at 50% off the menu price. The company pays for mileage at 25 cents per mile, and it pays for an oil change and lube job every 7,000 miles, as well as a car wash every week. A paid vacation (one week) is provided to drivers after accumulating 1,200 hours of work in a 52-week period. Another benefit is that drivers often hear of other job opportunities from their customers. Assignment: 1. Prepare two versions of the recruitment brochure. The first should carry a realistic message, and the second a traditional message. The brochure is to be a single, 8½” by 11” stiff piece of paper that will be folded in half, with one of the outside halves being used for the mailing and return addresses. Answer: Realistic Job Preview Brochure: Front: “Join Fresh Foods, Inc. – Deliver Hot Meals & Make a Difference!” Inside Left: “Expect flexible hours (4 p.m. - 11:30 p.m., up to 30 hrs/week) and a starting wage of $9/hour plus variable tips. Bring your own car, a clean driving record, and be ready for hands-on training. Note: tips vary, and delivery times are busy.” Inside Right: “Benefits include a meal discount, mileage reimbursement, and a paid vacation after 1,200 hours. Hear about other job opportunities from customers. Apply now and see if this role fits your lifestyle!” Traditional Job Ad Brochure: Front: “Exciting Driving Opportunities with Fresh Foods, Inc.!” Inside Left: “We offer flexible part-time hours, competitive pay at $9/hour plus tips, and excellent benefits including meal discounts, mileage reimbursement, and a paid vacation after 1,200 hours. No experience needed – we provide training!” Inside Right: “Join a thriving team and enjoy a rewarding job delivering hot meals. Apply today for a chance to start immediately!” 2. Prepare a brief report in which you indicate (a) which of the two brochures would likely attract more job applicants; (b) whether you think either brochure would attract more applicants than the currently used newspaper ads, and why; and (c) other recommendations you have for generating more job applicants. Answer: The most common error is to make the realistic message too negative and to deprive it of appeal. The realistic message should be realistic but still highlight the attractive elements of the job. (a) The realistic job preview brochure is likely to attract more job applicants as it provides a clear, honest depiction of job expectations and benefits. (b) This brochure would likely attract more applicants than the current newspaper ads by offering detailed information and addressing potential concerns upfront. (c) To generate more applicants, consider using targeted online ads, partnering with local community organizations, and hosting open house events to engage potential candidates directly. CASE STUDY When Marissa Mayer became CEO of Yahoo, one of the first things she focused on was upgrading the company’s talent assets. Because top technology talent is in such high demand, and because Yahoo’s declining performance had made it an unattractive employer, Yahoo was not having much success attracting top talent through conventional means. Mayer understood that many talented employees had resigned from Yahoo over the previous few years, and recognized that they could be very important to Yahoo’s talent turnaround and future success. Because hiring and developing new employees can take years compared to hiring back experienced people, Yahoo also realized that it could be faster and more effective to reach out to ex-employees. Recruiters sent official Yahoo employee welcome packets titled “Yahoo! welcomes you” to ex-VPs, project managers, and lower-level engineers with the word “Back!” hand written after the title. The contents of the packet describe how much the company has changed under the new CEO, and how Yahoo wants to speak with the recipient about “big opportunities.” The unorthodox strategy seems to be working. Within a year 14% of Yahoo’s new hires were boomerangs, or one in every seven new employees. Questions: 1. Think of the previous jobs you have held. Are there any previous employers to which you would consider returning? What would it take for the companies you used to work for to get you to reapply with them? Answer: Responses differ but often include doing interesting, meaningful work and working with great people. The opportunity to learn new things and advance often comes up as well. To return to a previous employer students often mention getting a different boss, a promotion or raise, or better opportunities for growth. Yes, I would consider returning to previous employers if they addressed key issues such as offering improved compensation, better work-life balance, and enhanced growth opportunities. Positive changes in company culture and clearer career progression paths would also influence my decision to reapply. 2. What are some advantages and disadvantages for Yahoo of its boomerang hire program? Answer: Because former employees understand the company’s culture, work processes, opportunities, and rewards they are often able to hit the ground running once hired. Given the hiring difficulties Yahoo was facing, boomerangs may be its highest quality source of hire. Possible disadvantages of hiring boomerangs include possibly missing out on job seekers with different skill sets, hiring people who expect the company to be like it used to be rather than embracing the change the new CEO is initiating, and possibly upsetting current employees if the returning employees are given raises or promotions when they return, which can look like a reward for having left. SEMESTER-LONG ACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT Develop a sourcing plan for the position you have chosen. Critically analyze the recruiting sources currently used to staff the position and recommend other recruiting sources that are likely to work. Be sure to explain why your recommendations are likely to be effective. Using what you learned in Chapter 3, identify how your sourcing plan will enable the company to comply with EEO and other legal requirements. Then identify a geographic area from which to source the job and perform a Boolean search using the information in this chapter’s Develop Your Skills feature. Revise your search until you have identified at least three promising leads for staffing the position. Print out the candidates’ résumés or biographies and append them to your report. Chapter 7: Recruiting LEARNING OBJECTIVES After studying this chapter, you should be able to: • Describe the purpose of recruiting. • Explain what recruitment “spillover effects” are. • Understand what makes a recruiter more or less effective. • Describe the various strategies used to attract applicants. • Describe how recruiting guides and the EEOC’s best recruiting practices promote recruiting consistency and quality. TAKEAWAY POINTS 1. Recruiting helps a firm build a stable and talented group of employees who contribute to its mission and business strategy. Recruiters do so by converting the leads generated during sourcing into job applicants, generating interest in the company and its jobs, and persuading candidates to accept extended job offers. 2. Recruitment spillover effects are the effects of recruiting that go beyond the particular staffing effort. When an unhappy job candidate tells potential customers or job applicants about a bad recruiting experience, it can have an effect on how attracted to the firm future applicants will be, the organization’s performance, and the company’s ability to recruit the unhappy job candidate for a future position and do business with the candidate. 3. Recruiters should be personable, informative, and trustworthy. 4. Applicant attraction strategies include improving an organization’s image and its brand as an employer, and the nature, realism, and timing of the information presented to recruits. 5. Developing a recruitment guide and following the EEOC’s best recruiting practices can help a company administer its recruitment activities more consistently and legally by formalizing the policies and practices to be followed during recruitment. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Why is it important that organizations continue to actively recruit job candidates even after they have applied? Answer: Recruits can self-select out of the hiring process at any time. Once they drop out of the hiring process they cannot become employees. Thus, it is important that organizations continue to look attractive to job candidates by continually recruiting them. 2. If you wanted to request funding from your CEO to evaluate and improve the quality of your company’s recruiters, how would you persuade him or her that doing so would be a good investment? Answer: Explaining the importance of recruiting in the acquisition of quality hires, showing projections of a coming decrease in the availability of talent, and showing how high performing companies are leveraging their recruiting functions can help. If a recruiting analysis can show that the company’s best employees tend to come from certain recruiting sources and methods, a case can be made to invest more in those recruiting methods. 3. What recruiter characteristics matter to you when you are applying for a job? Why? Which do not matter much or at all? Why not? Answer: Answers vary, but the ability to relate to the recruiter, recruiter job and organization knowledge, preparedness, trustworthiness, and professionalism are commonly cited as important. Recruiter interest in the applicant is also often identified as important. Recruiter demographics and job title are usually less important. Important recruiter characteristics for me include responsiveness, clear communication, and a deep understanding of the job role and company culture, as they ensure a smooth application process and alignment with my career goals. Traits that matter less are a recruiter's personal demeanor or appearance, as professionalism and expertise are more critical than subjective impressions. 4. Does an organization’s image or its brand as an employer affect its attractiveness to you as an employee or a potential employee? What elements of its brand matter the most to you? Why? Answer: Students often feel that a company’s employer brand is useful because it conveys information about how the firm values and treats its employees. A message that employees are valued and encouraged to make a difference while working on important projects are commonly cited as being important. Yes, an organization’s image and brand significantly affect its attractiveness. Elements that matter most include the company’s reputation for employee development, work-life balance, and ethical practices. These factors indicate a supportive and positive work environment, aligning with my values and career aspirations. 5. What could a recruiter do to interest you in applying for a company you have never heard of before? What tactics or information might persuade you to apply? Answer: Students often want a lot of information about what the company does, its prospects, and its financial stability. The company’s values and culture are also identified as important, as well as the amount of pay, benefits, and possibility for advancement. Being invited to visit the company can also increase interest. The discussion is usually helpful in highlighting the importance of recruiting in generating the right numbers of the right types of applicants. A recruiter could pique my interest by highlighting the company’s unique opportunities for growth, positive employee testimonials, and compelling benefits packages. Providing detailed insights into the company culture and showcasing how the role aligns with my career goals would also persuade me to apply. EXERCISES 1. Strategy Exercise: Luxury Limousine is a thriving business that operates a limousine service in a large metropolitan area of 800,000 people. Customers call 24 hours in advance to hire a car and driver for anything from rides to and from the airport to fun nights on the town. Because Luxury Limousine’s drivers are the only employees who customers see face-to-face, they must be professional, be knowledgeable about the city’s roads and fastest routes to key locations, and represent the company well. Lately, the company’s “help wanted” advertisements in the local paper haven’t been attracting the number of quality drivers it needs. In response to this situation, Luxury Limousine has decided to conduct a mass mailing campaign and send a recruitment brochure to each home in the metropolitan area. The company hopes this will improve its ability to recruit quality drivers. The following job requirements and rewards exist for the driver’s job: Drivers must (a) be over 21 years of age, (b) pass a written test about local roads and highways, (c) possess a valid commercial driver’s license, (d) have a good driving record (no moving violations in the last 3 years), (e) be able to read maps, and (f) be courteous. No previous limousine driving experience is required. The job is part-time, varying between 10 and 35 hours per week. The driving can occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The wage is $10 per hour plus tips. Tips are highly variable; about 15 percent of customers provide no tips, 50 percent provide tips of about 10 percent, and 35 percent provide tips of 15 percent or more. Drivers are given three days of training by an experienced driver, after which they must pass a ride-along test conducted by the owner of Luxury Limousine. Drivers receive a paid one-week vacation after 1,000 hours of work in a 52-week period. Another benefit is that drivers often hear of other job opportunities from their customers. Anyone could be a customer, from celebrities to high school prom dates. Traffic accidents and breakdowns can occur, and traffic can be challenging. Although most customers are friendly and enjoyable, some become intoxicated and can be difficult to deal with. Prepare two versions of a recruiting brochure. The first should carry a realistic message, and the second a traditional message. The brochure will be a single, 8 1/2” by 11” piece of paper folded in half, with one of the outside halves being used for mailing and return addresses. Your goal is to attract safe drivers who will execute Luxury Limousine’s strategy of providing reliable, high-quality transportation and excellent customer service. The goal is to communicate a realistic message, not a negative one. Then, prepare a separate report in which you indicate (a) which of the two brochures would likely attract more job applicants, (b) whether the quality of applicants attracted is likely to differ and why, and (c) other recommendations you have for generating more and better job applicants. Answer: Students usually have fun making the two brochures, and do a good job highlighting the positive features of the job. The error to be on the lookout for is that students tend to present the less desirable job information in a negative, rather than a realistic way. Emphasizing that both brochures should be designed to attract people for whom the job will be a good fit, and vaccinating new hires against possible undesirable aspects about the job without turning them off, can help. The exercise helps students apply not only realistic job preview information, but also recruiting strategy. Realistic Job Preview Brochure: Front: “Drive with Luxury Limousine – A Rewarding Career Awaits!” Inside Left: “Part-time positions available with flexible hours. Must be over 21, have a clean driving record, and pass a local roads test. $10/hour plus variable tips. Enjoy three days of training and a one-week paid vacation after 1,000 hours.” Inside Right: “Expect traffic challenges and occasionally difficult customers. However, you’ll gain valuable experience and hear about other opportunities. Apply now if you’re committed to high-quality service!” Traditional Job Ad Brochure: Front: “Join Luxury Limousine – Drive in Style and Earn Competitive Pay!” Inside Left: “We offer part-time positions with a starting wage of $10/hour plus tips. Enjoy flexible hours, comprehensive training, and a paid vacation after 1,000 hours. No experience needed!” Inside Right: “Become part of our professional team, driving for an esteemed company. Apply today for a rewarding career in luxury transportation!” Report: (a) The realistic job preview brochure will likely attract more suitable applicants as it provides an honest view of job expectations and challenges. (b) The quality of applicants is likely to be higher with the realistic brochure as it sets clear expectations, attracting those prepared for the role’s demands. (c) To generate more and better applicants, Luxury Limousine should consider online job platforms, attend job fairs, and partner with driving schools to reach a broader pool of qualified candidates. 2. Develop Your Skills Exercise: This chapter’s Develop Your Skills feature presented four steps for developing a positive employer brand. Working in a group of three to five students, use this process to design an employer branding strategy for a job held by one of your group members. Describe the brand you would like to create, and outline the activities you would undertake to establish that image among targeted applicants for your chosen job. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class. Answer: Students are generally very creative with this exercise. Responses should reflect chapter material. To develop a positive employer brand for a customer service representative role, we aim to create an image of a supportive and growth-oriented workplace. Our strategy includes showcasing employee success stories and career advancement opportunities through social media and company website features. We’ll host virtual open houses to engage potential candidates and offer detailed insights into the work environment. Additionally, we’ll implement an employee referral program to attract like-minded individuals who value professional development and a collaborative culture. 3. Opening Vignette Exercise: This chapter’s opening vignette described United Parcel Service’s social media recruiting strategies. Working alone or in groups of three to five students, answer the following questions. Be prepared to share your answers with the class: 1. What metrics do you suggest UPS track to optimize its use of social media in sourcing talent? Answer: UPS might track the number of recruits coming from different sources to analyze their quality and quantity as well as ultimate hiring rates for different positions. Job performance, tenure, promotion, and other job performance metrics could also be tracked to better evaluate the quality of hires attracted through social media. 2. What are some advantages and disadvantages of UPS using social media almost exclusively to source drivers and package handlers? Answer: Some advantages of using social media include a streamlined recruiting process, and relatively low cost. Disadvantages include possibly missing out on job seekers who do not use social media, which can disproportionally exclude members of minority groups, and not being sure that social media is the best source of hires for these positions. Using a wider variety of recruiting sources, tracking their performance on key metrics, and utilizing the best recruiting source or sources for each hiring effort is a better strategy than using any single recruiting method. 3. What other sourcing strategies for drivers and package handlers do you think would be effective for UPS? Answer: Additional sourcing strategies include targeting local residents who have had physical jobs or jobs as drivers, employee referrals, and job postings on UPS’s careers site. Effective sourcing strategies for UPS drivers and package handlers include partnering with local vocational schools and community colleges to tap into recent graduates, utilizing targeted online job boards and social media platforms to reach a broader audience, and hosting open recruitment events or job fairs. Additionally, implementing an employee referral program could leverage current employees’ networks to find suitable candidates. CASE STUDY Rock Blocks is a concrete manufacturing company. The company has been in business for over 60 years, and furnishes concrete blocks for building and landscape use. The company is owned and operated by the third generation of the founding family and has over 600 employees. Customer demand for the company’s products is growing, but Rock Blocks is having difficulty attracting and hiring enough manufacturing talent to keep up with demand. The company typically posts openings for its specialty positions on internet sites including Monster.com and on its own careers site, but the quality and quantity of applicants has been falling in recent years. Company president Roy Hanby explains that, “concrete manufacturing isn’t a popular career choice. Unless someone has family or a friend working in the industry, it can be hard to convince them of the potential of the job.” Hanby explains that starting salaries and career growth potential are high, and many employees feel proud having made something that many people will see and use and that will be around for a long time. Questions: 1. How can Rock Blocks increase the number of people that apply with the company? How can realistic job previews be used to increase interest? Answer: Creative sourcing and actively communicating the positive aspects of the building materials industry are important. Realistic job previews are useful to communicate the reality of a career with Rock Blocks, which few people are familiar with. Rock Blocks can also improve the amount and type of information provided in its recruitment ads. Its postings can reflect selling points that include the lasting impact of the work and practical information, such as high starting salaries. Because the company is not well known, job seekers will likely need information on both the company and the job before being willing to apply. Including this information in job postings and encouraging employees to make referrals since employees can easily answer questions about the company and should know who will be a good fit with the company and job being filled can also help. The information should be realistic and not over-sell the company or its opportunities or the new hires are more likely to leave than if their expectations are met. 2. Why do you think that potential applicants might not be enthusiastic about the idea of applying for jobs with Rock Blocks? What can recruiters do to change these perceptions? Answer: Students often have many ideas because of their personal lack of interest in the rail industry. The rail industry is not seen as cutting-edge or technology based, which often decreases its appeal to younger people. Recruiters must identify and communicate the aspects of the rail industry that are attractive to targeted recruits, and persuade the right people to apply. Online videos on the company’s Web site showing what the job entails, as well as profiles of successful employees who are similar to the targeted recruits discussing why they like working at BNSF can also increase the company’s appeal. Potential applicants might be hesitant to apply for jobs with Rock Blocks if the company is perceived as having low growth opportunities, poor work-life balance, or a lack-luster company culture. Recruiters can address these perceptions by highlighting clear career advancement paths, showcasing employee testimonials, and emphasizing the company’s commitment to work-life balance and a positive work environment in their recruitment materials. 3. Create a brief employer brand-oriented newspaper advertisement for a basic manufacturing position with Rock Blocks. Answer: Students should be encouraged to be creative but realistic, and to apply chapter content. Join the Rock Blocks Team – Where Your Work Shapes the Future! Looking for a stable and rewarding career in manufacturing? At Rock Blocks, we offer competitive pay, opportunities for growth, and a supportive work environment. Be part of a team that values your skills and invests in your future. Apply today and build a solid foundation with us! SEMESTER-LONG ACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT Building on your work for this project in the last chapter, research, describe, and critically analyze the alignment between existing recruiting practices and the staffing needs of this key position. Recommend alternative recruiting strategies, methods, target applicants, appropriate recruiters, the training recruiters should receive, and how they should be rewarded and evaluated. Using what you learned in Chapter 3, identify how your recruiting plan will enable the company to comply with EEO and other legal requirements. Also, develop a sample newspaper ad for the position that incorporates both the company’s employer brand and a realistic job preview. Andrews, D. R., “The Nurse Manager: Job Satisfaction, the Nursing Shortage, and Retention,” Journal of Nursing Management 13, 4 (July 2005): 286–295. “AACN Concerned that Recommendations in the President’s FY 2008 Budget Request Would Heighten the Nation’s Nursing Shortage,” American Association of Colleges of Nursing, February 9, 2007, http://www.aacn.nche.edu/FY08BudgetRequest.htm. Accessed April 6, 2007. Monahan, T., “Time is Short for Mayer’s Focus on Yahoo ‘Talent’”, Bloomberg Businessweek, September 28, 2012, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-28/mayers-talent-focus-at-yahoo-is-smart-but-she-has-little-time. Tsotsis, A., “Yahoo Sending ‘Welcome (Back)’ Packages to Former Employees, Trying to Get Them to Come Back,” Tech Crunch, January 21, 2013, http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/21/just-want-you-back-for-good/. Albanesius, C., “Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer: We’re ‘Back in the Game,’” IT Pro Portal, April 17, 2013, http://www.itproportal.com/2013/04/17/yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayer-were-back-in-the-game/ Solution Manual for Strategic Staffing Jean M. Phillips, Stan M. Gully 9780133571769
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