The Reference Letter of John - Essay Example

 1 Reference Letter of John 1. How does the applicant’s performance compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? Initially I was a little apprehensive whether John could adjust to his new assignment in the traditionally run funeral business industry, given his background. At the same time, I was keen to induct new blood into my business in order to galvanize our operations in all areas and John’s performance has exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. Most of the other funeral directors in our employment, though well-qualified, have grown into their positions through years of hands-on training and have imbibed our culture of hard work, commitment, dedication and customer-care. But we are also constrained by the very fact of a traditional approach that discouraged innovation. With his family and educational background and international banking experience, John proved to be altogether different from the rest of his colleagues as he looked at our business from the perspective of an outsider and this made a huge difference. He helped us to understand that funeral industry is not much different from any other product or service industry with stakeholders such as owners, employees, customers, suppliers, competitors etc. and went about strategizing our operations, even as he plunged himself into executing his specific role with rare zeal. His entrepreneurial streak and leadership qualities came to the fore as he involved himself in activities beyond the call of duty without treading on others’ toes. He is a team player par excellence. Enterprise, leadership and team building on the one hand, and a natural ability to apply learned processes to real life situations on the other, are the qualities that make John standout 2 in a crowd and I have no doubt that these qualities would make him a very successful businessman in times to come. 2. What legacy has the applicant left on your company? John changed the way we looked at our business in a number of areas like inventory control, working capital management, buyer-seller relationships, marketing, customer relations and above all, adopting technology. All these changes, as briefly explained below, have metamorphosed our operations like never before. John critically analyzed the past years’ data on stores and inventory movement and helped to rationalize the inventory management and thus working capital needs. He put in place a system of inventory control that tied up with the corporate goals of growth and profitability. Working capital costs have been brought down by avoiding high stocks slow moving but easily available items, even as incidents of unforeseen emergencies due to ‘stock outs’ of critical items were reduced. He has underlined the role of developing strategic relationships with critical suppliers in order to achieve a rational inventory control, whereby the suppliers are now more confident of their business with us and are willing to meet our demands of prices and delivery schedules. This mutually beneficial approach helped us to break supplier cartels that dictated prices in the earlier period. John’s contribution in the field of marketing and customer relations helped us to diversify our client base. He was directly involved in handling all cases referred to by the French Embassy and built a successful relationship with the embassy officials. In addition, he introduced the popular European custom of pre-paid funeral plans, to our line of business. This is now being 3 extended to our Asian operations as well. He was quick to learn of the Asian customs and the related government approvals and institutionalized them for others to follow. Technological changes have been impacting every walk of life and funeral business was no exception. John helped us to adapt to this change seamlessly and this is one more of his important legacies. Making out an impressive professional case for a thorough overhaul of our online presence and marketing strategy, he collaborated with the website designers/search engine optimizers/translators etc. economically and successfully. This has immediately resulted in a 30% surge in our online enquiries and a corresponding increase in our sales volumes. 3. Describe the most constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please also detail the circumstances that caused you to give the feedback. John had to deal with a very complex case involving funeral arrangements for a family with cross cultural background and hence, of conflicting instructions and interests. Added to that, John was getting a little frustrated with the lackadaisical performance of some of our staff and their petty politics. It was a funeral for a Chinese lady born in Singapore and educated abroad. She married a Scottish gentleman, had a 16 year old son by him, divorced and later had an English Partner - a top ranking lawyer. She passed away in Singapore and the different family members were at loggerheads as to the funeral specifics – Christian funeral vs. Chinese traditional funeral, choice of casket, ego clashes as the prominent English lawyer and ex-husband were appointed joint executors in her will etc. John had to reconcile all the differences without 4 hurting anyone’s sentiment. My constructive advice and feedback in this specific case helped John to complete the task successfully and to everyone’s satisfaction. 4. Is there anything else (positive or negative) we should know about the candidate? John is a constant learner and a tireless person. He pays attention to details and does not ignore the human element in all endeavors. He has a ready smile on his face and a note book on his person always. He has a good temperament that endears him to his colleagues and makes him a good team leader. He is a role model that believes in demonstrating his advice with personal conduct. Apparently he was influenced by his grandfather’s dictum of ‘walking the talk’. He is able to handle cross cultural environments and adopt quickly. All in all, I endorse him as a fit candidate to scale further heights in learning and applying the knowledge for successfully running business enterprises. Read More