replies

Reply to the discussion of the following three people

1st

I personally struggled with the content of these three chapters.  It is understandable the there should be strategies in place for recruiting, interviewing, and hiring and I found the charts and examples helpful for future use.  I cannot help but think about my own personal experiences when it comes to interviewing for jobs, especially when starting out after college graduation.  I was a mediocre student at best and have always struggled with test taking.  I am a learner by trade, and I excel at every job I do.  With a little guidance and proper training, anyone with the right morals, passion, dependability, and commitments could be the right person for the job. I understand first-hand how test taking, and college degrees are not a testament to someone’s intelligence or ability.  I know that you cannot simply interview every single applicant due to time constraints, but I believe it is important to come up with an application strategy that will not discount applicants solely based on education and testing.  This will most definitely lower your pool of qualified and diversified applicants.

When talking about background and criminal checks, I like how the author speaks about criminal issues with a prior job and not necessarily in one’s entire life. Yes, some people may not learn from their past mistakes, but most people do, and they should be given an opportunity to find employment.  I do not feel that applicants with a criminal past should be overlooked solely based on paper.  As discussed, references and recommendations are a great way to find out more about an applicant prior to an interview.  I believe this is imperative before moving away from an application simply based on a prior record. 

The interview content is extremely helpful.  Having questions that cover situations, behavior, job-related work, and stress are all important to cover during an interview. I think that video and phone interviews are more complicated when it comes to first impressions and vibe, thought I understand that an employer may need to be flexible with this.  I believe that having a group interview with team members that has structured and unstructured content is the best option.  It will allow for a variety of opinions while also giving the interviewee the ability to meet more members of the team and see how they operate together.

2nd

Having limited experience, I am amazed at the complexity involved in human resource management. The organizational capability needed to recruit and retain employees for a larger corporation is enormous considering the layered responsibilities of the HR team. It did not occur to me that the HR team would be involved in strategic activities;  "forecasting" positions needed to achieve the objectives of the strategic plan. The Cheesecake Factory example states that 24,000 employees are needed each year to fulfill expansion goals and loss through attrition, that is an enormous amount of people (p.151). 

Companies relying solely on traffic to company websites are hiring from a limited pool of candidates. Naturally, other means such as advertising, contracting with private agencies and listing with public agencies optimizes recruitment. Again, depending on the size of the organization; screening may involve a number of steps however conducting interviews is still the best way to determine if a candidate will fit into the company's culture. More often than not, a company's culture is cited as the main reason a person is hired, more than skill fit since training can fill any gaps. Studies have shown that the recruitment strategy influences the characteristics of the applicants. Public agencies that require clients fill out and attend a number of interviews to receive ongoing services may find that the applicant is more motivated to fulfill requirements of workforce services to continue their benefits then to actually find find a job.  It is clear that there are "pros and cons" with every strategy.  The key is to develop a "higher yield ratio" (p.173). 

Large corporations use measurements to increase chances that fewer applicants have the skill level required and that the ratio of those applying and hired are closer in number. "Percentage of resumes that result in interviews" and "percentage of interviews that lead to offers" (p.175) is quantified to assure that the time and resources invested in hiring new personnel leads to accomplishing objectives. I guess I did not consider the extent of human resource management needed in activities such as forecasting, recruitment, screening, testing, interviewing and ultimately, hiring personnel. Even small companies and non-profits need to have a human resource management plan that defines policies and protocols to achieve its mission. 

3rd

I appreciated reading these chapters as they are directly related to my job responsibilities at the City.  There were several topics that I would like to explore. One is background checks. Over the past 2 years, the only background check we participate in for new employees is a drug screening.  However, our HR consultant has recently been pushing for a more thorough background check.  The cost is not much different.  The City Manager has not given his approval, but I think after reading Chapter 7, we need to go ahead and implement this.   As our City staff is getting larger, and we are hiring more people, it will be a better way to protect ourselves from hiring someone that has issues.  However, I would love to hear people’s thoughts on at what point the background check completed.  In the text, it mentions that Toyota does the background check after the offer (Dessler, 2017, p. 217).  We have typically done the drug test after the offer letter is signed.   

We also recently began using scoring in our interviews.  We had been using structured situational interviews, but in the beginning of  2021, at the encouragement of our HR consultant, we adopted scoring.   I don’t know if our results would be different with or without scoring, as it seems in both cases the superior candidate has always risen to the top.  I do believe scoring helps the interview panel have a better idea why a certain candidate is better suited for a position.   During an interview, I do feel like I work hard on selling why our City would be a good place to work.   I liked what the text said to end each interview on a positive note and to leave a lasting positive impression of the company, regardless of the employment decision (Dessler, 2017, p. 213-214).

References:

Dessler, G. (2017). Human resource management (15). London: Pearson.