Western Washington uses a variety of recruiting methods. The primary methods of recruiting are referrals from current employees. In the Seattle area, the division also makes heavy use of job services. Over time traditional media methods of recruiting have been reduced, but are still used occasionally. Finally, to fill in those positions that are not met with the other three methods, the kiosk method is used.
Eastern Washington (Region 2)
This was where the company began. The split of Washington into Eastern and Western divisions came early in the store’s history, but their physical proximity and high overlap between management across the areas has lead to very similar management styles. The Eastern Washington division is approximately the same size as Western Washington, with 25 total stores. However, with the exception of the area around Spokane, the majority of this area is much more rural.
To a large extent, the Eastern Washington division pioneered all the policies used by Western Washington, although the overall policies have been tempered by geographical differences. The job service method has not been successfully implemented on a wide scale. Instead of using this method, this division uses more traditional media advertising.
Northern Oregon (Region 3)
Unlike Western Washington, there is a very different philosophy of operations in Northern Oregon. Northern Oregon has been run very “professionally” for years, with most decisions carefully weighted against their financial consequences. Administrative decision making is hierarchical, with specific tasks assigned at each level of the organization’s structure. The current top administrator for this area, Steven McDougal, has a reputation for being a technocrat, and has largely worked to maintain the system he inherited when he first took over five years ago. There are 18 stores in this region.
The recruiting methods of the Northern Oregon division fall into three major categories. The main methods are media and in-store kiosks. This division has also used staffing agencies lately. The division explicitly rejects the use of employee referrals, claiming that the use of signing bonuses leads to the hiring of unqualified individuals who are selected without sufficient qualifications due to favoritism.
Southern Oregon (Region 4)
Southern Oregon is unique among the areas within the Pacific Northwest in that it has remained relatively small, with only 16 stores in the division mostly concentrated in the Eugene area. However, there is also a growing push to increase concentration in Southern Oregon as a first step to establishing more stores in Northern California. This area is very innovative across the board in its human resources practices.
The innovative character of Southern Oregon is reflected in their recruiting practices. They have relied primarily on a combination of staffing agencies, referrals, and kiosk advertising. All three of these methods were first tried in this region.
Quantitative data
Data are available from the four divisions of the organization on the number of individuals who applied for work, the number of individuals who are qualified for the position, the number who actually receive job offers and accept them, and the number of number of individuals who remain with the organization at the 6 and 12 month point after hire.
Complete data on the recruiting yields for the four divisions is contained in Appendix B.
Table 2.1 Estimated costs for recruiting methods
Fixed costs Media Referrals Kiosk Job service Agency
Cost of setup (per site) $ 20,000.00 $ 30,000.00 $ 20,000.00 $ 40,000.00 $ 70,000
Variable costs
Materials cost per applicant $ 5.00 $ 10.00 $ 1.00 $ 5.00 $ 10
Processing cost per applicant $ 30.00 $ 30.00 $ 15.00 $ 15.00 $ 30
Additional pre-hire costs $ 20.00 $ 200.00 $ 20.00 $ - $ 20.00
Orientation and training $ 2,000.00 $ 2,000.00 $ 2,000.00 $ 1,000 $ 1,000.00
Another Angle on Recruitment: Manager Focus Groups
As part of the information gathering process, large scale focus groups have been conducted with department managers. Tanglewood contacted a market research firm to conduct the focus groups, and Tanglewood provided a detailed summary of the major findings. While managers differed considerably in their perceptions of the effectiveness of the different methods, their core concerns were generally quite similar, and can be grouped into four major categories:
1. The most pressing concern for many managers is reducing employee turnover. Although Tanglewood has typical retention rates for a retail chain, the importance of culture and cooperation in the Tanglewood philosophy means that new employees often are not fully integrated into the company’s culture until several months have passed. In short, typical retail turnover is not acceptable for Tanglewood. This is seen as an especially dangerous situation as the company expands, since it threatens to undermine the unique elements of the company’s approach to retail.
2. There is an excessive lag between the initial contact between many applicants and the actual hiring decision, leading many qualified individuals to drop out of the process. A few managers have suggested that finding a way to concentrate on methods that do not have this problem would be beneficial. The issue of lags in initial contacts and hiring is discussed in your textbook.
3. The recruiting process is administratively cumbersome. Managers want to find ways to reduce the amount of time they have to spend with assessing new candidates. This was partially a point of contention between managers, because some argued that using more computerized applications would be a good idea, while others felt this might give applicants the wrong impression about the organization and its methods.
4. Many new hires without retail work experience do not recognize the importance of positive customer service for sales, and training is often does not solve the problem. Several managers noted that they had discharged new hires for providing inappropriate customer service. A particularly frequent problem is new employees becoming frustrated with customers and refusing to assist them or behaving in a hostile manner. Some managers specifically suggested that new employees needed a more realistic introduction to the difficulties of the customer service role. Other managers suggest that a more positive message would be helpful, since it will draw in more qualified individuals.
5. Many managers also report that they would like to see messages more specifically targeted to the types of people who are likely to fit in with the Tanglewood stores culture. Managers note several elements of the organization’s culture (which you read about in the introductory case) that they think should be part of the recruiting strategy.
Specific Assignment Details
Analyze the information from the recruiting data and prepare a report showing the results of the analysis for your director.
1. Start by developing a recruitment guide like that shown in Exhibit 5.3 in the textbook. Note that the current situation differs from the example provided in the book because there is no specific timeline for hiring; this is a continuous recruiting effort because even as positions are being filled, new positions are becoming available. It is also different because Tanglewood does not have a specific list of minimal educational requirements as qualifications.
2. Describe the best “targets” for your recruiting efforts by considering the job and organizational context. Evaluate the various methods of recruiting in terms of whether they seem more like “open” or “targeted” recruiting, using the information in the book to help you make this decision. If some methods seem more “targeted,” whom do you think they target?
3. For each division use the data tables provided in Appendix B to estimate how each method fares in terms of yields and costs. Provide a one-page summary of the essential results of the various data tables you have been provided.
4. Northern Oregon has suggested that the other divisions of the company use a policy of using kiosks and staffing agencies rather than using the more “touchy-feely” method of relying on referrals. Does this division have a point? What would the effect of other regions increasing their use of external hiring be?
5. Tanglewood’s top management is highly committed to improving customer service quality, and proposes that simply finding the cheapest way to hire is not sufficient. Besides costs and retention, what other measures of employee performance would be good “bottom line” metrics for the quality of a recruiting method? How might the managerial focus groups’ concerns fit with these alternative considerations?
6. The question of realism in the recruitment policy has been raised in focus groups. Write one paragraph proposals for targeted, realistic, and branded recruiting messages for Tanglewood’s customer store associate positions. What are the traditional arguments for and against using realistic recruiting policies?
