Redesigned Hiring Process for Critical Analysis Company - Case Study Example

Redesigned Hiring Process for Critical Analysis Company Redesigned Hiring Process for Critical Analysis Company Introduction Critical Analysis Company is a Toronto based Software Company started in 1989 and specializes in the analysis of market projects for its clients. It also has offices in Vancouver, Amsterdam and Boston. They have an employee base of 330 personnel all over the globe with Canada having 240 employees. They have a young workforce averaging 32 years. Such a work force is characterized by unrest and high mobility. They are often poached by rival companies and the average working years for a particular company is 5 years before they move to another company. The Company seeks to improve the retention rate of its employees and has asked the HR department to come up with a document that will outline new recruitment, selection and orientations policies. It should also cover current career patterns in the software industry so as to help the company in developing measures that will curb the usual employees’ exodus from the company. This will in turn increase the company’s employee retention rate. For a company to achieve 100% employee retention rate, recruitment procedures need to be improved from favoring one gender to embracing talent and skill (Coetzee and Jacobs, 2006). Selection procedures also need to be re-written in order to open the career opportunities to all qualified personnel despite their age and gender. Employees’ no longer need to feel their job security threatened due to factors and situations that they can not control. In respect to US Department of Defense (2013) study on the current labor market forces, the job market growth for computer applications software engineers and computer systems software engineers is expected to grow at a rate of 34% and 30% respectively between 2008 and 2018. The number of graduates with a bachelor’s degree in this field grew at a rate of 6.2% in the year 2007 (US Department of Defense, 2013). This means that there is sufficient workforce in this industry, and hence the number of employees in transitory and spiral careers is on the increase. This presents a challenge in retaining such an unstable workforce, and effective measures have to be developed in order to retain them. In order for the company to remain an attractive employer for talented and seasoned employees, there is a need to improve selection and recruiting procedures to match the current labor market dynamics (Barabasi, 2002). Recruitment The current recruitment process of employees by Critical Company is characterized by: hiring a young workforce averaging 32 years of age, employee retention time of about 5 years and a male dominated work force with only 25% being females. Such a recruitment criterion presents a number of problems that will eventually result in recruiting un-talented and non-passionate workforce with a shorter retention time (Barabasi, 2002). First, the process of hiring a young work force, fresh from school may prove to be counter-productive and expensive than hiring seasoned software engineers. Such young employees need to be interred first before they can start working. They are supposed to carry out training to increase their level of competence. Such a venture is more expensive in more expensive and time consuming (Leanne, 2013). Better recruitment criteria need to be developed. To cut the extra costs involved with recruiting young and fresh employees from college, the company needs to shift into attracting experienced engineers from other rival companies who are ready to work and deliver in time. Though these employees may ask for better employment terms than the previous employees, they will prove to be more productive and easier to retain as they are happier, satisfied and not adventurous as their younger counterparts. With the upcoming projects, the company needs to hire competent employees to implement and successfully run them (Barabasi, 2002). The second problem in the recruitment process of this company is that they prefer employing males and females in the ratio of 3:1. This means that the company is not an equal opportunity employer and hence affects its reputation as a biased employer. In the current statistics published by the US Department of Defense (2013), between the years 2007-2019, the degrees number suppose to be awarded to women is expected to rise by 28% as with that of men expected to rise by 17%. This means that the number of women qualified to work in software development sector will be more than men. With such an expected future labor market, the company needs to change its image from a biased employer and start recruiting women to these positions. In the near future, there will be more women qualified in software development than men. Hence, there is companys need to tap onto this fresh work force. The successful candidate should be hired for their talents and not skills. They should learn new programming language in a within a short time (Leanne, 2013). Critical Analysis Company has been hiring their employees by listing skills required only. This may attract candidates who have learnt their skills through years of perfection and lack the talent to develop software. Skilled candidates who lack talent lack the ability to think of designing by use of tools available for them. They prefer to use things learnt in class and show rigidity in thinking broadly. Talented employees show diversity and can work at whatever assignment given unlike untalented ones. For the HR manager to identify a talented developer from the rest, they have to listen to what they do, they own assessment about themselves and what they like doing. From this short assessment of the candidate, a great manager will identify a talent and natural abilities possessed by the candidate. They will also be able to determine if the candidate is suitable for the organization. The successful candidate should not only come up with fantastic ideas about how to solve a problem but should also demonstrate how to implement it (Leanne, 2013). The HR should start targeting independent candidates so as to have candidate who is right for the job is hired. This may be achieved through networking among the players in the industry. Professional social media sites such as LinkedIn may come in handy as the candidate networks can be followed up. Apart from independent candidate, hiring free-agents and outlanders may prove to be a better decision rather than hiring dependent developers. Free-agents developers are well connected throughout the industry. They are highly specialized and qualified in a particular field and have unmatched problem solving skills. They also exhibit tolerance to uncertainty and risks. Their reputation is well established within the industry making their technical services be in high demand. Outlanders are professionals who exhibit weak technical and networking skills. They are out of touch with current developments in their field and HR managers should not hire such individuals (Coetzee and Jacobs, 2006). A successful recruitment policy should focus on attracting competent employees who are more experienced in software development and have previously worked in a similar firm. To attract such a caliber of employees, remuneration and benefits packages given to the employees have to be improved. Employees who are 28 years and older should be targeted as there are more stable and are not prone to moving from one employer to another for adventure. Male and females should be given equal employment opportunity as long as they are qualified. Qualifications, talent and ability to work as a team should be the fundamental qualifications rather than gender. Selection Process The current selection process at Critical Analysis Company is based on interviews only. To improve the selection process, aptitude test, group discussion (GD) and a better interview should be introduced. Aptitude Test An aptitude test is integral to the selection process. This test covers areas such as quantitys ability, verbal ability, basic computer skills and reasoning. The outlined tests are standard and well structured. Questions asked by the company are customized to suit their selection process. For Critical Analysis Company, the aptitude test should contain two sections. Section one should contain 40 questions with a limited time of 35 minutes and the section is meant to test the candidate verbal ability. A reading comprehension containing two passages is meant to test the candidate’s level of English language. The second section contains 30 questions with a limited feedback time of 40 minutes. They are meant to test the candidate’s ability to solve problems. The questions will test students’ knowledge and acquired skills on data sufficiency, data interpretation, analytical and non verbal reasoning. The third section contains questions testing on the candidates’ technical knowledge. They have to show understanding of programming languages such as C++ and C (Coetzee and Jacobs, 2006). Failure of a candidate to pass this stage will automatically lead to disqualification. Group Discussion Test A group discussion test is carried out to test on the ability of the candidate to work as a team. Following the traditions of Critical Analysis Company of embracing team work as one of the core values, the test comes in handy to identify suitable candidates. During this test interpersonal and communication skills as well as a candidate’s ability to link up facts are tested. The candidates are organized into a group and are given two topics to discuss by the interviewer. The topic may either be abstract or knowledge based, and the candidates remain under observation for the rest of the discussion. The interview observes and notes down a candidates clarity of thought and language. The candidate’s ability to understand and argue the topic is noted down. Leadership skills demonstrated during the discussion score more points (Leanne, 2013). Interview This is the third selection tool used. The candidate should be interviewed twice, first by the HR department and secondly by the technical panel. During the interview, a candidates knowledge is tested. Knowledge of they is noted down as well as their hobbies and job expectations. Their interests, achievements and carrier plans, should also be clearly articulated. The candidates are also expected to show deep knowledge on their field of specialization. The interviewer should ask questions from random fields to test the candidate’s base of knowledge. They should exhibit a good command and show interest in their field of specialization. If the candidate is has resigned from a rival company, they should give concrete reasons for doing so and be able to demonstrate that the same would not happen if they are offered a job. Overall, the interviewers should pay attention to the candidate’s ability to show confidence and knowledge in their field. Candidates may also be asked on the payment package they expect. Candidates who fail in the interview should be eliminated from the selection process (Schreuder and Coetzee, 2006). Orientation Process The current orientation process in Critical Analysis Company takes three days and involves giving the employee information about the company overview. The process takes a maximum of 1 week with an aim to make the employee understand the company broadly. The problem with such an orientation process is that the employee gains minimum knowledge about the specifics of their new position (Schreuder and Coetzee, 2006). The new orientation policies will aim at offering the employee with job-specific orientation. This will help the employee understand how the company functions and how they will fit in, procedures, rules and regulations followed, the layout of the company’s workplace, job duties, expectations and responsibilities. It should also focus on introducing the workers to co-workers. After hiring the successful candidates are hired, they should be oriented so as to familiarize themselves with how the company operates and the duties they are expected to carry out. First, the new employees should be sent a welcome letter by the HR manager. This letter should have a copy of the procedures manual and employee policies. The exact reporting date and a job description should be included, and performance goals be clearly indicated for their first year in employment (Schreuder and Coetzee, 2006). The manager should make sure that they inform their employees that terms of employment would be discussed once they report to work. After the employee reports, the HR manager should meet them right away and introduce them to the staff. Since the Critical Analysis Company has embraced an open office system, the employees should be shown their desk and be given keys to their drawer. Staff schedules should be outlined to the new employees, and organizational chart, the financial report and the company’s strategic plan provided. Next, the new employees should be shown around the offices, kitchen, bathrooms and copier systems. Configuration of office computers should be explained to the employees and telephone usage procedures followed should be explained clearly. Policies followed while using the company’s resources should also be explained. If the employees were recruited fresh from college, training courses should be started immediately to bring them onboard and familiarize them with a professional working environment. It is important to remind them of standard computer security procedures that include how to carefully set and use passwords. Location of useful manuals and other documentation including use of networks and peripherals should be shown to the employee. Every new employee should be assigned a work ‘buddy’ to guide them and have their questions answered. The buddy will work towards integrating and accompanying the new employee to social events organized by other employees of the company (Barabasi, 2002). The company should also start a tradition where the supervisor accompanies the new employee to their first lunch. This helps in making the feel more comfortable around other employees in such a non-formal place. The supervisor should not talk about work during lunch break but should take the opportunity to know the employee’s family background and other personal details. At the end of the day, the supervisor should meet the new employees to get their feedback about their first day at work. If they report any challenges experienced during the day, the supervisor and the ‘buddy’ should promise to solve them the next day. The following day, the supervisor should meet the employee and review the job description once again. They also should be asked to have a look at the employee manual and review it before signing to show that they will comply with it. The supervisor should also take time to review goals expected to be met by the employee in their new position. Review of performance procedure should be done, and a copy of the document provided (Schreuder and Coetzee, 2006). For the remaining days of the weeks, the supervisor should continue meeting the employee on a daily basis to answer any arising question. The orientation process should continue for remaining five weeks, and one-on-one meetings should be organized on a weekly basis. Previously, the supervisor has been meeting with the new employees only after receiving reports indicating problems. This should change this as it sends the wrong message to the employee that the supervisor is available only when problems arise (Wantland, Baie and Gallagher, 2002). The supervisor will now be expected to be meeting the employees on a regular basis to get updates about their transition into the company. They also should get regular status on pending issues and work activities involving the new employees. This will help in breaking the barrier that is normally formed between new employees and theyre supervisors (Barabasi, 2002). Orientation process makes a big difference in determining how quickly a worker can be productive and the quality of interaction with the rest of the employees. Career Patterns Career patterns in Critical Analysis Company involve frequent movement of workers after a period of five years. They often move to competitor firms in a process called raiding. Most of the employees seem to have the skills to seek jobs in various companies but have not chosen their career pathscareer. This has led to the company loosing its talents that they have developed over years only to start the recruitment process once again. Most of these employees appear to be in a transitory and spiral phase of their career that is characterized by moving across various fields in a short period. This problem can be rectified by adopting a new career pattern policy whereby the company will target experienced employees of advanced age. The minimum age should be 29 years as employees in this age bracket tend to be more experienced and already have chosen a career (Schreuder and Coetzee, 2006). They are already in the expert and linear level of their careers and have proved their stability, competence, power and achievements in their previous working places. This measure will in turn lead to the company retaining more workers. Introducing refreshment courses has been proven to be effective in retaining employees. They feel valued by the company and are able to choose their career paths that will be likely intertwined with the company (Wantland et al., 2002). Conclusion Critical Analysis Company should start offering both males and females equal employment opportunities in order to tap the growing number of female graduates in the market. They should shift to recruiting employees with a minimum of 29 years in order to increase theyre ability to retain employees. The selection process should comprise of an aptitude and GD test to complement the interview previously given. The orientation process should focus more on job specifics rather than an overview of the company profile only and should be extended from the current one week to a minimum of 6 weeks in order to maximize the employee’s productivity. The current career patterns in the company should be improved through hiring of experienced employees and through introduction of refreshment courses that will likely improve the retention rate of the current highly mobile workforce. References Barabasi, A. (2002). Linked. The New Science of Networks. London: Perseus Publishing. Coetzee, M. & Jacobs, H. R. (2006).Career Counseling and Guidance in the Workplace. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd. Leanne, R. (2013 May 14).What’s your career journey pattern? Retrieved from http://www.winc.net.au/whats-your-career-pattern/ Schreuder, A. M. & Coetzee, M. (2006). Careers: An Organisational Perspective. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd. US Department of Defense. (2008 September 23). Forecast of Future Labour Supply and Demand. Retrieved from http://dodcio.defense.gov/Home/Initiatives/NetGenerationGuide/ForecastofFutureLaborSupplyandDemand.aspx Wantland, K. F., Baie, L. F. & Gallagher, J. (2002). Adaptability defines new E&P workforce. Harts E&P, 22, 20-22. Read More