Introduction
Recruitment of personnel in an organization is an important function and requires careful planning and scheduling. The whole process involves identifying the prospective employees, interviewing them, arranging a training and orientation schedule for selected candidates, conducting the mandatory physicals and drug screenings (depending on company policy and statutes), and any related procedures. Planning and scheduling for this should be coordinated by the person in charge of recruiting. This paper is a report on the problems caused due to the lack of responsibility or lack of knowledge of the campus recruiter Carl Robins. In the process, this report will provide a background of the case, highlight the key problems, review alternatives and provide solutions and recommendations. This is essential because such a scenario should not be repeated within ABC INC in the future.
Lack of planning and scheduling appears to be the main problems that are the cause of the current situation.
Background
Robins, who is the campus recruiter at ABC INC, had recruited fifteen students to work as the operations supervisor of a company, Monica Carrolls. He assured Ms. Carrolls that everything was proceeding smoothly when reminded of the various procedures that were to be completed by the end of the recruitment process. Lack of planning by Robins could also have given the company a bad image among the students of the college from where the fifteen were selected. The responsibility of being in charge of the recruiting process is not easy. It is a clichéd but true saying that “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Recruiting is too often a reactive rather than a proactive process.” (Pritchard, 2006). In other words, a recruiter must be ready to meet any eventualities or unexpected events as a part of his or her job.
Graduate students will have little or no experience in filling resumes and preparing transcripts. They would also not be sure about the steps to be taken with regard to physical and drug screenings. This is the reason why recruiting is more reactive than proactive. In another recruitment drive, the problems that crop up might be entirely different. Robins had clearly erred in these two areas.
Key problems
Lack of planning
Robins has previous experience in recruitment as an assistant. He should have been aware that resumes/transcripts may be incomplete especially when it is made by fresh graduates. It was only after Memorial Day that he bothered to check the resumes and he found that a few of the trainees had not completed their transcripts. He also found out that none of the fifteen trainees (student recruits) had been taken to the clinic for the drug screening as required by the company. Robins should have checked the transcripts as soon as he had received them from the students. He also should have made arrangements for the students to be sent to the clinic in batches (since screening may take time). Screening, as a rule, should be scheduled over a number of days.
Lack of follow-up
Carolls had reminded Robins of the interview well in advance of the due date and he, in turn, assured her that everything was fine. Robins let up another chance to see whether all formalities had been completed. Had he done so, he would have found out the shortcomings much before Memorial Day. Memorial Day falls on the last Monday of the month of May, which in 2008 fell on the 26th.
Scheduling error
Training and orientation programs conducted by ABC INC are usually held in the specially constructed training room within the premises of the company. It has all the necessary paraphernalia and equipment required for such a purpose. Examples are projection systems, classroom-style seating, whiteboards, and a sound system. Due to the lack of similar facilities, training would be ineffective if conducted elsewhere. The training room is usually used by all the departments of the company for official and informal training sessions. The procedure is to book the hall in advance with the HR department who will then block the room for the applicant for the required days/time. Robins had forgotten to book the room as soon as he got the scheduled date of training (June 15) He must have been reminded about it when he saw the incomplete transcripts. When he went to the training room to check it out, he found that it was booked by the IT department for the whole of June. The booking was done on the 17th of May, two days after Carrolls’ inquiry to Robins.
Lack of training for new employees like Robins
Faults in the training methodology of the company is one of the reasons why Robins had acted in such a manner. This was Robin’s first major responsibility and he had only been with the company for only about six months. It is obvious that there was no one to monitor his activities periodically. The training program appears inadequate with regard to checks since Robins had not done this until after Memorial Day.
Alternatives
Filling transcripts
Some HR personnel can be sent to the college to get the students to fill the transcripts. Alternatively, the student trainees can be asked to come to the premises of ABC INC on a preplanned day. But both these are not very practical especially since time is short and there are hardly ten days to the scheduled training day. Moreover, the staff is short at the company at the moment and deputing someone to the college will only cause work problems within the company. Robins is busy with his other responsibilities. So the question of sending him also does not arise. Moreover, the authorities may not give the necessary permission to disturb the student on the campus for an error caused by the company’s fault. Students can be asked to visit the laboratory for drug screening on a particular day.
Drug screening
The screening apparatus and health personnel can be shifted temporarily to our premises where students can take the tests. The first suggestion is not feasible because the college might not approve of students being disturbed. The second alternative will entail additional costs of hiring the apparatus, paying the costs of the health personnel and transportation. Moreover, the lab personnel may be unwilling to let the apparatus out of their premises.
Hall availability
The IT department can be asked to postpone their training or break it for a short while starting from the 15th of June. Another option is to conduct the training by hiring a hall which has the facilities from such agencies. Both these suggestions are not feasible due to the following reasons. The IT department has a major training program and they may not be willing to postpone or break it for a short period. They have training personnel from outside and hence the change of schedule is out of the question. Hiring an outside hall will prove to be expensive. The students will also not have enough time within the premises which is necessary to get themselves familiar with the company.
Inadequacy of training system
The existing training program and procedures can be stopped for the time being until a new or modified one is in place. Alternatively, the whole staff of the company is provided with immediate training to fortify their existing knowledge and skills. Reviewing and changing the training methodology needs time. This is not an emergency situation and can wait until the recruitment process is over. It is also not practical to provide retraining to the entire staff. It is a costly and time-consuming affair. Moreover, each member may not need another round of training and hence. Only the newer employees (like Robins) need be provided with it.
Solutions
Transcripts
It is enough that the trainees be asked to complete their transcripts once they turn up for training since only a few of them have not done so.
Drug screening
Drug screening is more of a problem to solve. The only practical solution is to take the trainees for screening once they have joined us. The agreement should be that trainees who do not pass the screening will not be allowed to continue working with us.
Training methodology
Only minor changes with regard to checks and monitoring are necessary. This can be done by the HR department as soon as possible. Once done, the new employees can be asked to attend the training once again in a phased manner.
Training hall availability
The best option is to rent the necessary projection and sound equipment and use the spare rooms on the premises as a makeshift classroom
Recommendations
ABC INC is a professionally run and profitable company with a good image among its employees and the general public. But even such a relatively minor crisis can cause a small dent in its image. It is better to prevent such issues from happening in the first place. Changes in the training program and its schedule will correct this problem. No organization will be free of problems at all times, and such issues should be seen as a learning experience. This will ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.
References
Pritchard, Christopher W. (2006). 101 Strategies for recruiting success. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Web.