Introduction
The case study concerns Amazon’s workforce expansion plans, explaining the company’s need to hire thousands of more workers in order to cope with its growing operations. Customer service is of pivotal importance to Amazon, and thus, the position of Customer Service Manager is also critical. Considering the scale of Amazon’s operations, at least ten customer service managers are required to address the needs of the company’s Customer Service department. The correct recruitment and selection procedures can help the company to hire the right people for this position, ensuring that they will contribute to the quality of service provided to clients.
Legal Landscape
Firstly, it is essential to note that hiring in the United States is guided by various laws and policies. The company has to ensure that the recruitment process is free of bias based on race, gender, religion, ability level, and age in order to comply with the Equal Opportunity Policy (“Legal aspect of recruitment,” 2020). Additionally, the National Labor Relations Act prevents unfair labor practices and supports employees’ rights from recruitment to contract termination (“Legal aspect of recruitment,” 2020). In addition, the application of anti-discrimination and industrial laws in the United States prohibits asking specific questions during interviews. Hence, the selection process should be focused on the person’s ability to do the job (“Legal aspect of recruitment,” 2020). Taking into account these legal conditions allows preparing recruitment and selection plans that will comply with regulations and present no legal risks.
Recruitment Plan
Recruitment refers to the process of attracting candidates for a position. According to the definition, “Recruitment is defined as a process that provides the organization with a pool of qualified job candidates from which to choose” (University of Minnesota, 2016a, para. 1). Recruitment is crucial to the organization because it creates a foundation for successful hiring. If the company does not have access to candidates who could perform the job well, it will be forced to hire a person who does not have appropriate qualifications or leave the position empty, and both options can impair its performance.
Online job websites and the company’s website should be the main tools in the recruitment process. On the one hand, online job websites are highly popular today, and most applicants start their search there, meaning that more significant numbers of candidates can be attracted. On the other hand, the company’s website will draw the attention of people who are interested in Amazon and have experience being its client. The organization also needs to have a well-defined job description and ideal candidate portrait so as to increase the chances of attracting the right candidates. The overall recruitment plan is as follows:
- Create a job description based on duties to be completed and current employees’ activities;
- Create a description of an ideal person for the job to understand desirable qualities and abilities;
- Create job postings for Customer Service Manager on job aggregators (e.g., Indeed) and Amazon’s Careers website.
Selection Plan
The process of staffing involves selecting the right person for the position from an identified pool of potential candidates. This process is vital to success because it helps to match the individual’s experience, knowledge, and abilities to the demands of the job (University of Minnesota, 2016b). If the person selected for a position cannot complete their duties appropriately, the company’s performance will suffer.
Selection tools involve various techniques that can be used to filter applicants. For the position of Customer Service Manager, tests on communication, leadership, problem-solving, and customer service abilities will be essential because these skills are demanded by the job. Additionally, interviews should be used to find out more about candidates and their abilities. Traditional face-to-face interviews would be appropriate because they allow understanding more about the candidate and ensure person-organization fit. Job-specific interview questions should include:
- What is your experience in customer service?
- How do you plan on dealing with customer complaints?
- How have you dealt with customer complaints in the past?
- How can you motivate employees to provide the best customer service?
- What can you contribute to Amazon in your role as a Customer Service Manager?
The plan for selecting the right candidates is as follows:
- Develop testing tools to evaluate candidates’ abilities;
- Contact candidates, inviting them to take part in the assessment;
- After the assessment period (1-2 weeks) is over, select the top 10% of candidates and invite them for interviews;
- Conduct interviews and make final staffing decisions.
Conclusion
On the whole, the position of Customer Service Manager requires employees to have diverse skills and prior experience in customer service. Moreover, the hiring process in the United States is guided by various considerations that shape recruitment and staffing. The proposed recruitment and selection tools will assist Amazon by attracting the right candidates and ensuring that they have the required skills, abilities, and experience to perform their future duties excellently and contribute to the company’s quality of service. Hence, the recruitment and selection plans will help Amazon to hire highly capable employees for the position, supporting the company’s expansion efforts and future performance.
References
Legal aspect of recruitment and hiring. (2020). Web.
University of Minnesota. (2016a). 4.1 The recruitment process. UMN Libraries. Web.
University of Minnesota. (2016b). 5.1 The selection process. UMN Libraries. Web.