Northern Arizona University
College of Business Administration

MGT 310--Human Resource Management

Ch 5: Recruitment & Careers

• Recruiting
  • External
    • Labor market
      • Unemployment rates
      • Willingness to relocate
        • Two-income families, children
      • Compensation, moving costs, ...
    • Outside sources
      • Advertising
        • Web sites, newspapers, trade journals ... radio, TV, billboards, posters, e-mail
        • Accuracy and completeness of information
      • Unsolicited applications
        • Respond! -- PR, courtesy & respect
      • Internet recruiting
        • 4,000+ websites
        • Monster.com, Yahoo!, CareerBuilder, USAJobs, AOL Career
        • Jobing.com, TucsonJobs.com
      • Employee referrals
        • The way most positions are filled ... who you know
        • Quality high
        • Ways to increase effectiveness
          • Commissions, dinners, discounts, trips...
          • Save part of reward for 6 months (incentive to help succeed)
          • Educating employees on kinds of people want to hire
          • Celebrate successes
          • Keep resumes on file
          • Consider former employees, relatives...
          • Mailing to "corporate friends"
          • Measure results ... fine tune
        • Negative factors
          • Inbreeding ... EEO laws
          • Nepotism--favoritism with relatives
      • Executive search firms--headhunters
        • High, fixed fees--30-40%
        • CEO promoted from within outperform those hired from outside
      • College recruiting (internships, relationships)
      • Professional organizations
        • Networking
        • Job fairs at national meetings
      • Labor unions
      • Public employment agencies
      • Private and temp agencies
        • Snelling, Manpower, Kelly, Olsten
        • May focus on a special field
        • 25-30% fee if hired
        • Be sure to specify wants and needs
        • Temps--fill-in, peak periods, leaves, JIT staffing
          • Legal issue--"independent contractors"
      • Employee leasing
        • Take over HR duties (outsourcing)
        • Placement fee 4-8%
        • Ongoing fee 9-20%
        • Provide benefits
        • Companies with fewer than 50 employees may save $5,000-$50,000 annually
    • Effectiveness
      • Yield ratios--percent of applicants by source that make it to next stage
      • Costs of recruiting--average cost/hire by source
    • Professional recruiters--large organizations may hire outside recruiters
    • Realistic job previews--desirable and undesirable aspects
      • Improves job satisfaction
      • Reduces turnover
      • More honesty and openness
      • Realistic expectations
  • Internal
    • Advantages
      • Motivation--must be made aware of the policy
      • Familiarity with organization and operations
      • Performance record
    • Limitations
      • Some jobs not easily filled from within
      • Inbreeding
      • Limits source of new ideas
        • Beware attempting to hire away from competitors to gain access to secrets--may get sued!
  • Identifying qualified candidates
    • HR information systems--records, qualifications (PeopleSoft, SAP)
    • Job posting and bidding
      • Physical or electronic bulletin boards
      • Publications, handouts, direct mail
      • Public-address messages
      • Bidding--let employees post names, resumes, positions desired
        • Career development program
    • Performance appraisals--developmental and career decisions, candidates for promotion
    • Skill inventories--most companies indicate a shortage of talent, but may not be doing much to develop it
      • Signs--Fig 5.4, p. 196
    • Assessment centers--a process of evaluating individuals in situations similar to those on the job
      • In-basket exercises--simulate a problem, several documents, prioritize & make decisions in a timeframe
      • Leaderless group discussions--give an issue, look for initiative, leadership, teamwork skills
      • Role playing
      • Behavioral interviews--questions about specific work circumstances
      • Validity (content and predictive)
• Career Management--Figure 5.5, p. 198
  • Goal--matching individual and organizational needs
    • Employee's role
      • Creating your own career path
      • Developing your KSAs--self-assessment, training & development
    • Organization's role
      • Top management support
      • Clear expectations and directions
      • Job design, performance appraisal, career counseling, personal counseling, mentoring
    • Balancing individual and organizational goals
      • Philosophy & goals match
      • Flexibility
  • Identifying career opportunities and requirements
    • Competency analysis
      • KSA requirements, weights
      • Job analysis
    • Job progressions--career paths (see Fig 5.7, p. 201)
      • Caution--not mechanical
      • Capitalize on opportunities, idiosyncratic--right place at the right time
    • Recognize possibilities
      • Promotions--merit, seniority, potential
        • Peter Principle--promoted to level of incompetence
      • Transfers--learn, broaden experience, improve chance of promotion
        • May involve need to move geographically
          • Relocation services
          • Outplacement services (Right Management in Tucson)
        • Consider "demotion" options for developmental purposes
      • Dual career paths--professional/technical vs. management
      • Boundaryless career--free agents, proactive self-development and flexibility
    • Career stages--Fig. 5.9, p. 207
    • The plateau trap--getting stuck on the ladder
      • Structural plateau--end of promotional opportunities
      • Content plateau--bored with job
      • Life plateau--midlife crisis ... loss of identity and self-esteem (meaning)
  • Career development initiatives
    • Successful practices
      • Clear expectations for employees
      • Opportunities to transfer
      • Succession plans
      • Rewards & recognition
      • Time & resources for development
      • Assess skills and career direction
    • Career planning workbooks
    • Career planning workshops
    • Career counseling
      • Determining individual development needs
      • Meaningful training assignments--challenge, responsibility, empowerment
      • Fast-track programs--rapid progression with exposure to different organizational functions
    • Self-management training
      • Continuously gather feedback and information about your career
      • Prepare for mobility
        • Widen viewpoint
        • External opportunities
        • Career networking
    • Mentoring--coaching, guidance, encouragement from individuals higher up in organization (than own supervisor)
      • Top 10 myths--Fig. 5.11, p. 211
      • Mot effective mentors--Fig. 5.12, p. 212
      • Guidelines
        • Research prospective mentor's background
        • Make contact--get an introduction
        • Request help on a particular matter
        • Consider what you can offer in exchange
        • Arrange a meeting
        • Follow up--what you did
        • Ask to meet on an ongoing basis
      • Job shadowing
      • E-mentoring
      • Networking
        • Other students, alumni
        • Family and friends, their parents, bosses
        • Professors, advisors, coaches, tutors, clergy
        • Professional organizations, clubs, religious groups, other organizations
        • "Do lunch"
• Developing a diverse talent pool
  • Women (gender)
    • Economic necessity (60% supporting themselves; 3/5 heads of households; 80% working mothers with children)
    • Management--45-50% (esp. large orgs); 13% of corporate directors of Fortune 500
    • Eliminating barriers
      • Good old boys network-->women's networks
      • Professional development for women
      • Glass ceiling audits--equal access (see list p. 217)
    • Preparing women for management
      • Special training
      • Books and magazines
    • Accommodating families
      • Work/family conflicts
      • Alternate career paths
      • Extended leave
      • Flextime
      • Job sharing
      • Telecommuting
      • Take-home dinners, babysitting on Saturday evenings...
  • Minorities
    • Increasing in population and workforce
    • Diversity recruitment--see HRM 5, p. 219
    • Minority internships
    • Professional development and promotional opportunities
  • Disabled
    • Only 30% of disabled adults are working
    • Most are hearing, vision, back-related
    • Dependable, attendance, loyalty, low turnover; even more intelligent, better motivated, better qualified
    • Other disabilities--unattractive, obesity, illiteracy
    • See HRM 6, p. 222
  • Older people
    • Worker shortfall (esp. babyboomer retirements expected)
    • Trend to hire--aging workforce (experience, savvy, reliability)
    • Part-time, temporary, on-call
    • May need some accommodation for physical problems, poorer vision, hearing & mobility
  • Dual-career couples
    • Over 80% of all marriages (and many unmarried couples)
    • Flexible working schedules, leave policies, telecommuting, job sharing
    • Main problem--relocation (esp. foreign assignments)
      • Job-finding assistance for spouses