Troy University How To Reduce Risks of Employees Lawsuit Discussion

You are the Director of Human Resources for a medium-sized, private company and have discharged Aimee, a 25 year old black at-will employee for poor work, constant tardiness, and taking longer breaks than authorized by company policy.  She is not well liked by her fellow workers, and her work is indeed slightly below satisfactory levels. Company files evidence numerous sub-standard reviews and that her conduct persisted despite numerous written warnings.  You are confident that the company has proper cause to terminate Aimee whether she was at-will or not.  When you call her into your office to notify her of her termination, she gets very indignant saying that her work is fine and that she’s not the only one late or abusive of break periods.  She then asserts that she’s being singled out because of her sex and her race.  She asks about severance pay, and you notify her that there will not be any.  Aimee then informs you that she is going to sue the company for wrongful termination based on discrimination and for severance pay.  The company does not want Aimee to work there any more under any circumstances but does not want the cost or publicity that a law suit would bring.  What would you suggest to possibly abate the law suit?

On separate file: CASE STUDY: Read case study, “Hiring FBI Agents” located on page 325

Answer case questions 1-3 on page 325

If you are using “Strategic Staffing” Fourth Edition the case is located on page 459-460

Answer case questions 1-3 on page 460

Strategic Staffing
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Third Edition
Global Edition
Strategic Staffing
Jean M. Phillips
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Stanley M. Gully
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Contents
Preface 11
About The Authors
19
Chapter 1 Strategic Staffing
21
The Staffing Context 23
Defining Strategic Staffing 24
How Strategic Staffing Differs from Traditional Staffing 24
The Components of Strategic Staffing 27
Workforce Planning 27
Sourcing and Recruiting Talent 28
Selecting Talent 29
Acquiring Talent 29
Deploying Talent 30
Retaining Talent 30
Matchmaking Process 30
The Goals of Strategic Staffing 31
Identifying Staffing Goals 31
Evaluating the Staffing System 32
Integrating the Functional Areas of Human Resource Management 33
Training 34
Compensation 34
Performance Management 34
Career Development and Succession Management 35
The Organization of This Book 35
Summary 36 • Takeaway Points 37 • Discussion Questions
• Exercises 37 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 38
• Case Study Assignment: Chern’s 38 • Endnotes 39
37
Chapter 2 Business and Staffing Strategies 41
A Resource-Based View of the Firm 42
What Is the Resource-Based View of the Firm? 43
Requirements of a Competitive Advantage 43
The Firm’s Business Strategy 44
Types of Business Strategies 45
Making Changes to the Firm’s Business Strategy—and Staffing 49
How the Organizational Life Cycle Affects Staffing 49
The Firm’s Talent Philosophy 50
Filling Vacancies or Hiring for Long-Term Careers 50
The Firm’s Commitment to Diversity 51
Applicants and Employees as Either Assets or Investors 51
The Firm’s Commitment to Ethical Behavior 53
Deriving the Firm’s Staffing Strategy 53
The Firm’s Strategic Staffing Decisions 55
Should We Establish a Core or Flexible Workforce? 55
Should Our Talent Focus Be Internal or External? 56
Should We Hire People with the Skills We Need or Train Them to Develop Those Skills? 58
Should Talent Be Replaced or Retained? 58
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Contents
Which Skills and What Level of Them Should We Seek? 58
Should We Pursue Proactive or Reactive Staffing? 59
Which Jobs Should We Focus On? 59
Is Staffing an Investment or a Cost? 60
Should Our Staffing Function Be Centralized or Decentralized? 61
Achieving a Competitive Talent Advantage 62
Summary 63 • Takeaway Points 63 • Discussion Questions 64
• Exercises 64 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 65
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 65 • Endnotes
65
Chapter 3 The Legal Context 68
The Types of Employment Relationships 70
Types of Employees 70
Independent Contractors 73
Outsourcing 74
Laws and Regulations 74
The Laws Relevant to Staffing 75
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) 80
Global Issues 81
Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Quotas 81
Equal Employment Opportunity 81
Affirmative Action 82
Quotas 83
Enforcement Agencies 84
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 84
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) 85
The Bases for Employment Lawsuits 87
Disparate Treatment 87
Adverse (or Disparate) Impact 88
Defending Failure-to-Hire Lawsuits 91
Fraudulent Recruitment 91
Negligent Hiring 92
Negligent Referral 93
Trade Secret Litigation 94
Sexual Harassment 95
EEOC Best Practices 95
Barriers to Legally Defensible Staffing 95
General Barriers 96
Specific Barriers 97
Summary 98 • Takeaway Points 99 • Discussion Questions 99
• Exercises 99 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 100
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern 100 • Endnotes
100
Chapter 4 Strategic Job Analysis and Competency Modeling 104
Job Analysis and the Strategy Behind It 106
Types of Job Analyses 106
The Legal and Practical Reasons for Doing a Job Analysis 108
Job Descriptions and Person Specifications 109
Common Job Analysis Methods 110
The Critical Incidents Technique 111
The Job Elements Method 111
Interview Methods 112
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The Task Inventory Approach 112
The Structured Questionnaire Method 113
Planning a Job Analysis 113
Time and Resources 115
Identifying Job Experts 115
Identifying Appropriate Job Analysis Techniques 115
Conducting a Job Analysis 115
Get the Support of Top Management 116
Communicate the Purpose of the Job Analysis to All Participants 116
Collect Background Information 116
Generate the Task Statements 117
Generate the KSAOs 118
Form the Job Duty Groupings 121
Link the KSAOs Back to the Job Duties 121
Collect Critical Incidents 121
Weight the Job Duties 122
Construct a Job Requirements Matrix 123
Write the Job Description and Person Specification 123
Other Methods: Competency Modeling and Job Rewards Analysis 125
Competency Modeling 125
Job Rewards Analysis 127
Summary 130 • Takeaway Points 130 • Discussion Questions 131
• Exercises 131 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 132
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 132 • Endnotes
Chapter 5 Forecasting and Planning
132
135
The Workforce Planning Process 137
Forecasting A Firm’s Labor Demand 138
Seasonal Forecasts 139
Interest Rate Forecasts 139
Currency Exchange Rate Forecasts 139
Competition-Based Forecasts 140
Industry and Economic Forecasts 140
Legal Factors 140
Other Factors 140
Internal Forecasting Tools 141
Forecasting a Firm’s Labor Supply 145
Forecasting the Internal Labor Market 145
Forecasting the External Labor Market 150
Resolving the Gaps Between the Firm’s Labor Supply and Labor Demand 151
Dealing with a Temporary Talent Shortage 151
Dealing with a Persistent Talent Shortage 152
Dealing with a Temporary Employee Surplus 153
Dealing with a Persistent Employee Surplus 153
Staffing Planning 153
How Many People Should Be Recruited? 154
What Resources Are Needed? 156
How Much Time Will It Take to Hire the Employees? 157
Summary 158 • Takeaway Points 158 • Discussion Questions 159
• Exercises 159 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 160
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 160 • Endnotes
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6
Contents
Chapter 6 Sourcing: Identifying Recruits
162
What Is Sourcing? 163
What Makes a Recruiting Source Effective? 164
What Recruiting Sources Exist? 164
Internal Recruiting Sources 165
External Recruiting Sources 167
Employee Referrals 167
Creating a Sourcing Plan 179
Profiling Desirable Employees 179
Performing Ongoing Recruiting Source Effectiveness Analyses 180
Prioritizing Recruiting Sources 181
Sourcing Nontraditional Applicant Pools 182
Workers with Disabilities 183
Older Workers 183
Welfare Recipients 184
Global Sourcing and Geographic Targeting 184
Global Sourcing 185
Geographic Targeting 185
Summary 187 • Takeaway Points 187 • Discussion Questions 187
• Exercises 188 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 188
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 188 • Endnotes
Chapter 7 Recruiting
188
192
What Is Recruiting? 193
How Applicants React to Recruiting? 194
Fairness Perceptions 194
Spillover Effects 194
What Makes a Recruiter Effective? 195
The Recruiter’s Characteristics 196
The Different Types of Recruiters 198
Other Factors Influencing a Recruiter’s Effectiveness 200
Training and Developing Recruiters 202
Recruiting Knowledge 202
Interpersonal Skills 202
Presentation Skills 202
The Organization’s Goals and Recruiting Objectives 203
Legal Issues 203
Multiple Assessments 203
Applicant Attraction 203
Recruiting Metrics 204
Setting Recruiters’ Goals 204
Giving Recruiters the Incentive to Meet Their Goals 205
Global Recruiting 205
Developing Applicant Attraction Strategies 205
Developing the Organization’s Image and Brand 206
Developing the Organization’s Employer Brand 206
Developing the Recruiting Message 208
Developing Realistic Job Previews 210
Developing Self-Assessment Tools 212
Timing the Disclosure of Information 213
Achieving Recruitment Consistency 214
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Developing a Recruiting Guide 214
Following the EEOC’s Best Recruiting Practices 214
Summary 215 • Takeaway Points 216 • Discussion Questions 216
• Exercises 216 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 217
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 217 • Endnotes
217
Chapter 8 Measurement 222
What Is Measurement? 224
Describing and Interpreting Data 224
Types of Measurement 224
Scores 225
Shifting the Normal Curve 228
Using Data Strategically 229
Correlations 229
Interpreting Correlations 232
Regressions 233
What are the Characteristics of Useful Measures? 235
Reliability 235
Standard Error of Measurement 239
Validity 240
Using Existing Assessment Methods 244
Selection Errors 246
Standardization and Objectivity 246
Creating and Validating an Assessment System 247
Benchmarking 247
Evaluating Assessment Methods 247
Summary 249 • Takeaway Points 249 • Discussion Questions
• Exercises 249 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 251
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 251
• Chapter Supplement 251 • Endnotes 255
249
Chapter 9 Assessing External Candidates 257
The Firm’s External Assessment Goals 259
Maximizing Fit 259
Assessing Accurately 262
Maximizing the Firm’s Return on Its Investment in Its Assessment System 263
Generating Positive Stakeholder Reactions 264
Supporting the Firm’s Talent Philosophy and Human Resource Strategy 265
Establishing and Reinforcing the Firm’s Employer Image 265
Identifying New Hires’ Developmental Needs 265
Assessing Ethically 265
Complying with the Law 265
External Assessment Methods 266
Screening Assessment Methods 267
Evaluative Assessment Methods 274
Contingent Assessment Methods 285
Using Multiple Methods 288
Reducing Adverse Impact 288
Assessment Plans 289
Summary 291 • Takeaway Points 291 • Discussion Questions 291
• Exercises 291 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 293
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 293 • Endnotes
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8
Contents
Chapter 10 Assessing Internal Candidates 301
The Firm’s Internal Assessment Goals 302
Evaluating Employees’ Fit with Other Jobs 303
Enhancing the Firm’s Strategic Capabilities 303
Gathering Information with Which to Make Downsizing Decisions 303
Gathering Information with Which to Make Restructuring Decisions 304
Maximizing Fit 304
Assessing Accurately 305
Maximizing the Firm’s Return on Its Investment in Its Assessment System 305
Generating Positive Stakeholder Reactions 305
Supporting the Firm’s Talent Philosophy and Human Resource Strategy 306
Reinforcing the Organization’s Employer Image 306
Identifying Employees’ Developmental Needs 306
Assessing Ethically 306
Complying with the Law 306
Internal Assessment Methods 307
Skills Inventories 307
Mentoring Programs 308
Performance Reviews 308
Multisource Assessments 309
Job Knowledge Tests 310
Assessment Center Methods 310
Clinical Assessments 311
The Nine Box Matrix 311
Career Crossroads Model 311
Managing Succession 312
Developing a Succession Management System 313
What Makes a Succession Management System Effective? 315
Career Planning 315
Integrating Succession Management and Career Planning 318
Summary 319 • Takeaway Points 320 • Discussion Questions 320
• Exercises 320 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 321
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 321 • Endnotes
321
Chapter 11 Choosing and Hiring Candidates 324
Choosing Candidates 325
Combining Candidates’ Scores 325
Who Makes the Final Hiring Decision? 329
Legal Issues Related to Hiring Candidates 329
Job Offer Strategies 330
Creating a Job Offer 331
Compensation Decisions 332
The Employment Contract 334
Legally Binding Contracts 334
Common Contract Content 334
Additional Agreements 335
Presenting a Job Offer 336
Negotiating 338
Negotiating with New Hires 338
Renegotiating Contracts 340
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9
Closing the Deal 341
Fairness Perceptions and Rejections 342
Rejecting 342
Reneging 343
Summary 344 • Takeaway Points 344 • Discussion Questions 344
• Exercises 344 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 346
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 346 • Endnotes
346
Chapter 12 Managing Workforce Flow 349
Orienting and Socializing New Employees 350
The Phases of Socialization 352
Socialization Choices 353
What Makes a Socialization Program Effective? 356
Global Mobility 357
Managing the Flow of the Workforce 357
Types of Turnover 358
The Causes of Voluntary Turnover 359
Analyzing the Causes of Turnover 359
Developing Retention Strategies 361
Mergers and Acquisitions 364
Managing Succession 365
Redeploying Talent 365
Involuntary Employee Separations 366
Downsizing 366
Layoffs 369
Alternatives to Layoffs 370
Discharging Employees 370
Dealing with the Risk of Violence 371
Summary 372 • Takeaway Points 373 • Discussion Questions 373
• Exercises 373 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 375
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 375 • Endnotes
375
Chapter 13 Staffing System Evaluation and Technology 379
Staffing Outcomes 381
Evaluating Staffing Systems 382
Key Performance Indicators 382
Staffing Metrics 384
Six Sigma Initiatives 387
The Balanced Scorecard Approach 389
Staffing Evaluation Ethics 391
Technology and Staffing Evaluation 392
Résumé Screening Software 392
Applicant Tracking Systems 393
Company Web Sites 395
Digital Staffing Dashboards 396
Summary 398 • Takeaway Points 399 • Discussion Questions 399
• Exercises 399 • Semester-Long Active Learning Project 400
• Case Study Assignment: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s 401 • Endnotes
Appendix: Strategic Staffing at Chern’s: A Case Study
Glossary 427
Index 433
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Preface
It is well accepted that talent is a source of competitive advantage. Employees are what set organizations apart and drive their performance. In today’s competitive business environment, an
organization’s ability to execute its business strategy and maintain a competitive edge depends
even more on the quality of its employees. The quality of a company’s employees is directly
affected by the quality of its staffing systems. Because hiring managers are involved in the staffing process, hiring managers and human resource professionals need to be familiar with strategic
staffing techniques.
The practice of staffing has changed significantly over the past 10 to 15 years. Organizations
increasingly realize that their employees are the key to executing their business strategies. The
war for talent has made the identification and attraction of high-performing employees essential
for companies to compete and win in their marketplaces. The Internet and other technologies
have also changed the ways firms identify, attract, hire, and deploy their talent.
Our goal in writing Strategic Staffing was to create a text that is grounded in research,
communicates practical staffing concepts as well as the role of staffing in organizational performance, and is engaging to read. The third edition of Strategic Staffing continues to present
current staffing theories and practices in an interesting, engaging, and easy-to-read format. We
have tried to be responsive to reviewers and users of this text in revising this edition. Some of the
more substantial changes are as follows:
• Replacement of most chapter-opening vignettes with new ones on companies including
Facebook, MITRE, and McAfee
• Expanded discussion of global issues in staffing throughout the book
• Revision of the “The Legal Context” chapter (Chapter 3) to address current changes in
­legislation and court decisions including pay discrimination, EEOC claims, and the Genetic
Information Nondiscrimination Act and an expanded discussion of the use of concentration
statistics in establishing adverse impact
• Addition of figures and supplement to the measurement chapter (Chapter 8) for more
­advanced treatment
• Addition of new exercises throughout the book including an Ivey job offer negotiation
exercise in the instructor’s manual available free for users of this book
• Updated citations, statistics, and a wide variety of company examples throughout the text,
including the examples of Google, P&G, QVC, Apple, PepsiCo, Deloitte, and Southwest
Airlines
• Additional material on outsourcing as a sourcing option
• Expanded discussion of the use of technology throughout the staffing process
• The addition of information on current sourcing and recruiting tools and techniques including mobile career sites, Internet sourcing Web sites, and social media and networking sites
including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook
• Provision of new and additional material for instructors in the Instructor’s Manual
This is a partial list of the changes in this edition. For a more detailed list please see New to This
Edition below.
We treat staffing as an integrated process that begins with an understanding of a company’s business strategy and continues through planning, sourcing, recruiting, selecting, negotiating, socializing, career planning, retaining, and transitioning the workforce. These stages enable
organizations to meet hiring objectives and ensure that talent is in the right place at the right
time. Although the book is research based, we include many company examples to illustrate the
material. Strategic Staffing describes how to
• Develop a staffing strategy that reinforces business strategy
• Forecast talent needs and labor supply and plan accordingly
11
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Preface
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conduct a job or competency analysis and a job rewards analysis
Strategically source potential recruits
Recruit and select the right people
Negotiate with and hire top candidates
Socialize, deploy, and retain talent
Manage turnover
Use staffing metrics and conduct staffing system evaluations
Leverage technology throughout the staffing system
Integrate the staffing system with the other human resource functions of training, compensation, and performance management
• Ensure the legal compliance of the staffing system
New to the Third Edition
Here is a chapter-by-chapter list of the changes in the third edition. Statistics have been updated
throughout the book.
Chapter 1
• Added discussion of the potential importance of hiring an exceptional rather than an average performer
• New case study on fictitious Atlas Corporation
Chapter 2
• New examples of companies including P&G, QVC, Goldman Sachs, and Google
• Updated Web site addresses for staffing related standards and ethical guidelines
• New discussion of performance differences in different jobs and the implications for a
high return on a staffing investment
• New discussion of outsourcing and the role of local expertise in recruiting globally
Chapter 3
• Updated legal information, including information on misclassifying independent contractors, the WARN Act, and the legal use of assessment test results
• Updated statistics and examples including Goodwill Industries and Best Buy
• Expanded discussion of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
• Added information on pay discrimination
• Expanded discussion of interpreting concentration data in establishing disparate impact
• New case study on Pfizer
Chapter 4
• New opening vignette of MITRE Systems
• New discussion of performing an organizational analysis to identify personality attributes
that support the organizational culture
• Updated discussion of best practices in writing a job description
• New examples including Red Lobster and PWC
• Expanded discussions of critical incidents, unstructured interviews, and the definition of
tasks in the task inventory job analysis approach
• New material on interview guides
Chapter 5
• New opening vignette of Black Hills Corporation
• New examples including Saudi Aramco, FM Facility Maintenance, UPS, 3M, and Con-way
Freight
• New discussion on identifying critical jobs
• New discussion of legal factors influencing labor demand
• New discussion of how reducing labor expenses as a cost cutting tool can backfire
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Preface
13
• New information on using external talent networks to manage temporary skill gaps
• New information on the use of “just in time” staffing and its implications
Chapter 6
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New opening vignette featuring McAfee
New discussion and examples of mobile sourcing and recruiting
New examples including PepsiCo, Accenture, Facebook, and Microsoft
Updated examples of Internet sourcing Web sites
Expanded discussion of Internet sites including Glassdoor.com and sourcing using social
media sites including Jobvite.com and LinkedIn.com
New discussion of best practices in using social media in sourcing
New information about outsourcing and finding freelancers
Expanded discussion of the risks of prioritizing applicant quantity over quality
New case study of Yahoo
Chapter 7
•
•
•
•
•
New opening vignette of United Parcel Service
New examples of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, GE, IKEA, and Coca-Cola
Expanded discussion of global recruiting and external recruiting
New examples of the use of technology in recruiting
New case study of fictitious company Rock Blocks
Chapter 8
•
•
•
•
New opening vignette of Xerox
New discussion of the meaning and implications of the “big data” trend
Added a discussion of evaluating the use of a vendor’s assessment tool
Updated Excel commands/formulas for computations
Chapter 9
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New opening vignette of Facebook’s hiring process
New discussion of involving outside stakeholders in the hiring process
New discussion of how reactions to the same staffing process can vary across national cultures
New discussion of social network searches and best practices
New information about using customized tests to assess cognitive ability
Expanded discussion of the use of personality assessments
New discussion of conducting employment interviews over the Internet
New information about case interviews, graphology, and social media checks
New discussion of the use of fake references and information about using online software
to conduct reference checks
New information about personality or other attributes that contribute to failure (“derailers”)
New information about the best use of criminal history checks
New examples of Burger King, Bridgewater Associates, UBS, Deloitte, Google, and
Southwest Airlines
Two new video-based Develop Your Skills exercises (all videos available on the companion Web site), one on assessing an interviewer’s errors and another on scoring actual
structured interviews
Chapter 10
•
•
•
•
New opening vignette featuring Fluor
New company examples including Caesar’s Entertainment
Expanded discussion of the Nine Box Matrix
Updated case study on General Electric
Chapter 11
• Expanded discussion of starting pay policies
• New discussion of Form I-9
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Preface
• New Ivey job offer negotiation exercise available in the Instructor’s Manual (free with use
of this book)
• Updated case study on hiring FBI agents
Chapter 12
•
•
•
•
New company examples including Intel, QVC, Sun Microsystems, and Google
Expanded discussion of orientation programs
New discussion of global mobility
Revised information about best practices in downsizing
Chapter 13
• New company examples including Salesforce.com, PNC Financial Services Group, and
Southwest Airlines
• Expanded discussion of using technology to monitor the staffing process in real time and
to collect data to use in improving the staffing process
• New information about key staffing metrics
• New discussion of applicant tracking, HRIS, and cloud-based recruiting tools
Appendix–Chern’s Case
•
•
•
•
Modified the description of Chern’s to be a men’s and women’s department store
Revised some of the quantitative information in the case
Clarified the optional use of the unstructured video interviews
Clarified some of the instructions based on user feedback
We have also updated citations and references throughout the book so they are as current as possible. This edition continues to discuss modern strategic staffing theories and practices including, for example, integrating staffing strategy with business strategy, aligning staffing with other
human resource management functions, using technology in recruiting and staffing system management, downsizing strategies, and current legal issues. Of course, traditional staffing concepts
including forecasting and planning, recruiting, assessment, and selection are covered as well.
Throughout the book, staffing concepts being discussed are “brought to life” through organizational examples.
We also strive to develop staffing skills in addition to conveying staffing theories and concepts. The Develop Your Skills feature in each chapter covers topics including job offer negotiation tips, Boolean sourcing techniques, online résumé tips, and making your own career development plan help translate the book’s concepts into real skills.
Book Features
• We provide learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter to provide an advance
organizer of the material covered in the chapter.
• Each chapter leads off with a vignette describing a staffing challenge faced by a real organization. At the end of the chapter, the vignette concludes and integrates the relevant staffing concepts used by the company to address the challenge.
• Every chapter has a Develop Your Skills feature that extends a topic in the chapter and
develops a personal skill related to staffing.
• Discussion questions at the end of each chapter provide the opportunity to check understanding of chapter material.
• A brief case study at the end of each chapter encourages problem solving and the application of chapter material by stimulating in-class discussions or focusing on individual
solutions.
• Three interactive exercises at the end of each chapter bring the material to life. One exercise is tied to the opening vignette, one is linked to the chapter’s Develop Your Skills
feature, and one integrates the chapter’s staffing concepts with business strategy.
• A book-long active learning project applies the breadth of the textbook material to a specific job in an organization. This active learning project develops strategic staffing skills in
addition to developing tacit knowledge about the strategic staffing process.
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15
• A book-long case study contained in the Appendix provides the experience of evaluating
the staffing strategy and staffing system for sales associates in a hypothetical high-end
retail store called Chern’s. The case also provides practice planning, budgeting, and evaluating the return on the investment of the staffing choices made. Online videos accompanying the case illustrate both structured and unstructured interviews and provide the experience creating an assessment plan, scoring job interviews, and making a hiring decision
from among eight candidates.
• A humorous video is available online that illustrates what not to do in an interview.
• Eight structured and eight unstructured interviews of eight job candidates for an upscale
department score available for use with the Chern’s case (see Appendix). These are also
available for standalone use as examples or as part of a learning activity (all videos are
available online).
Organization of The Book
The book is broken into four sections.
Section 1, “The Staffing Context,” contains Chapters 1 through 4. Chapter 1, “Strategic
Staffing,” considers the importance of staffing for organizational success. We define strategic
staffing, explore the strategic staffing process, and discuss key staffing outcomes and goals. We
describe and illustrate the difference between traditional and strategic staffing and highlight the
impact staffing can have on the other human resource management functions.
Chapter 2, “Business and Staffing Strategies,” covers how the organization’s business
strategy and competitive advantage influence the organization’s human resource strategy, as
well as the organization’s talent strategy and philosophy. We discuss how business strategy and
competitive advantage connect with human resource strategy and the organization’s talent strategy and philosophy. This chapter also explains how staffing can create value for a firm, and
introduces the various strategic staffing decisions that must be made during any staffing effort.
Chapter 3, “The Legal Context,” describes the legal environment in which staffing must
operate. Laws and regulations are changing yet they play an important role in determining how
an organization recruits, hires, promotes, and terminates employees. We discuss specialized
employment relationships, such as independent contractors and temporary workers, and summarize relevant laws and regulations. We describe legal theories including negligent referral
and negligent hiring, and discuss barriers to legally defensible recruiting and hiring. We address
current topics, such as definitions of applicant in an Internet world.
Chapter 4, “Strategic Job Analysis and Competency Modeling,” covers job analysis,
future-oriented job analysis, job rewards analysis, and competency modeling. We discuss the
linkage between business strategy and employee competencies, styles, and traits. We present
a basic job analytic technique applicable to most jobs that is also appropriate for the book-long
active learning project.
Section 2, “Planning, Sourcing, and Recruiting,” addresses the identification, attraction, and
recruitment of job applicants in addition to staffing planning. Because people who never apply for
a position cannot become employees, sourcing and recruiting qualified and interested applicants
is a critical step in the strategic staffing process. This section contains Chapters 5 through 7.
Chapter 5, “Forecasting and Planning,” describes how organizations derive business forecasts that are then translated into estimates of future labor demand. Labor supply forecasts are
also made, and when combined with labor demand estimates, they help to identify where the
organization needs to focus attention to ensure that it has the right talent in the right place at the
right time. We present techniques for forecasting labor supply and labor demand, action planning, and discuss issues regarding the planning of a recruiting and hiring initiative.
Chapter 6, “Sourcing: Identifying Recruits” discusses applicant sourcing, or the identification and attraction of recruits, including the use of different types of Internet searches. We
describe many different recruiting sources and discuss how to develop a sourcing plan and evaluate recruitment source effectiveness.
Chapter 7, “Recruiting,” describes employer branding and image, and the importance of
addressing applicant reactions. Methods of targeting recruits, crafting an effective recruiting
message, and persuading people to apply for jobs are described. We also discuss considerations
in choosing the appropriate form and content of the recruiting message.
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Preface
Section 3, “Selecting,” covers the assessment of job candidates and the evaluation of their
fit with the job and organization. This section contains Chapters 8 through 10.
Chapter 8, “Measurement,” describes some of the issues regarding candidate assessment.
The concepts of central tendency, variability, scatter plots, correlation, regression, and practical
and statistical significance are introduced along with explanations of reliability, validity, and
validity generalization. The material in this chapter provides the foundation for some of the
material in Chapters 9 through 13.
Chapter 9, “Assessing External Candidates,” discusses methods of assessing the qualifications of external job candidates. We review interviews, work samples, personality testing, cognitive ability testing, and other methods, and describe their effectiveness.
Chapter 10, “Assessing Internal Candidates,” discusses methods of assessing the qualifications of employees being considered for a different position in the company. Performance
reviews, the GE nine box method, and peer and supervisor ratings are some of the methods
reviewed.
Strategic staffing involves the movement of employees into and through an organization. Section 4, “Managing the Staffing System,” covers the final choice and socializing of new
employees, including the negotiation and hiring process. This section also discusses managing
the flow of talent through the organization using career planning and succession planning, and
by conducting separations, such as layoffs, terminations, and downsizing. We describe the use
of technology in the staffing process, managing employee retention, and the evaluation of the
staffing process. This section contains Chapters 11 through 13.
Chapter 11, “Choosing and Hiring Candidates,” describes the process of deciding
which job candidate(s) should receive job offers, subsequently negotiating those offers,
and socializing new hires. Methods of combining candidate assessment scores into a single
score that can be used to compare candidates are described. We describe candidate choice
­methods including banding, ranking, cut scores, and grouping. We discuss tactics for negotiating ­hiring agreements and persuading job offer recipients to join the company, along with
inducements. The perspectives of both the candidate and the organization on the negotiating
process are considered.
Chapter 12, “Managing Workforce Flow,” discusses the management of talent through
the organization, including new hire socialization, career planning, succession planning, and
leadership development. Separation decisions, such as layoffs, terminations, and downsizing, are
also reviewed. The chapter also covers different types of turnover, the causes of turnover, and
methods of retaining valued talent.
Chapter 13, “Staffing System Evaluation and Technology,” covers the importance of
evaluating a staffing system’s effectiveness. We cover other metrics and evaluation methods
in other chapters when appropriate. We describe the staffing system evaluation process and
­present specific staffing system metrics. This chapter also discusses the ways in which technology has changed and shaped strategic staffing systems. Technology can enable strategic execution, and many organizations are leveraging technology, such as applicant tracking systems, to
enhance their recruitment and selection efforts. Internet recruiting, the role of a company’s own
Web site, résumé screening software, and HRIS systems are discussed. Use of technology as an
aid to collecting data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a staffing system is also
covered.
Teaching and Learning Support
Strategic Staffing continues to be supported with an extensive supplement package for both students and faculty.
Instructor Resource Center
Instructors can access a variety of supplements available with this text in downloadable, digital
formats by visiting www.pearsonglobaleditions.com/Phillips.
To obtain access to our Instructor’s Resource Center please contact your local Pearson
sales representative who will assign you your access code. As a registered faculty member, you
can log in directly to download resource files, and receive immediate access and instructions for
installing Course Management content to your campus server.
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Preface
17
Our dedicated Technical Support team is ready to assist instructors with questions about
the media supplements that accompany this text. Visit http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com for
answers to frequently asked questions and toll-free user support phone numbers.
Instructor’s Manual
• Includes interviewing, résumé, negotiation, and firing/layoff tips
• Includes an Ivey job offer negotiation exercise available free with the use of this book (the
exercise is in the Instructor’s Manual)
• Includes new computation instructions for the supplement in Chapter 8
• Provides a “User’s Guide” for managing the Chern’s case and for using associated interview videos
• Provides support for Chern’s assessment data (located on Companion Web site) for easy
cut-and-paste response to students
Test Item File
This Test Item File contains multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions. Each question is
followed by the correct answer, the learning objective to which it correlates, AACSB category,
question type (concept, application, critical thinking, or synthesis), and difficulty rating. It has
been thoroughly reviewed by assessment experts.
TestGen
Pearson Education’s test-generating software is available on www.pearsonglobaleditions.com/
Phillips. The software is PC compatible and preloaded with all of the Test Item File questions.
You can manually or randomly view test questions and drag and drop to create a test. You can
also add or modify test-bank questions as needed.
PowerPoints
This edition offers accompanying PowerPoint presentations. The PowerPoint presentations offer
helpful instructional support by highlighting and clarifying key concepts. The PowerPoints are
available for download from www.pearsonglobaleditions.com/Phillips.
Companion Website
The companion website (www.pearsonglobaleditions.com/Phillips) contains a data set for Chapter
8 as well as corresponding exercises. A video on how NOT to conduct an interview is also available
as well as the eight structured and eight unstructured interviews (each 3 minutes or less) of eight
job candidates for an upscale department store. Faster streaming of interview videos facilitates an
improved viewing experience over previous editions. To access the content on the companion website, please use the access code which has been bound into the front of the student’s text. Instructors
can gain access by using their log in information to the Instructor’s Resource Center.
CourseSmart* eTextbook
CourseSmart eTextbooks were developed for students looking to save on required or recommended
textbooks. Students simply select their eText by title or author and purchase immediate access to
the content for the duration of the course using any major credit card. With a CourseSmart eText,
students can search for specific keywords or page numbers, take notes online, print out reading
assignments that incorporate lecture notes, and bookmark important passages for later review.
Reviewers
We would like to thank the terrific panel of reviewers whose many comments and suggestions
improved the book:
Kalyan Chakravarty, California State University–Northridge
Scott L. Boyar, University of Alabama at Birmingham
*This product may not be available in all markets. For more details, please visit www.coursesmart.co.uk or contact your
local Pearson representative.
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18
Preface
Kannu Sahni, University of Pittsburgh
George H. Bernard, Seminole State College of Florida
Howard J. Klein, Ohio State University
Debbie L.Mackey, University of Tennessee
Carl J. Blencke, University for Central Florida
We would like to thank our sons, Ryan and Tyler, for their patience and support while we
wrote this book. We dedicate it to them and could not have done it without the joy and inspiration they give us. We also gratefully acknowledge the superb Pearson team for their contributions to this revision. Kris Ellis-Levy, Sarah Holle, and Meghan DeMaio were true partners in
the effort. Pete Troost and Hébert Peck of Rutgers University’s iTV Studio did a terrific job
shooting and producing the interview videos. We thank J. Allen Suddeth for his skill in casting
and directing the video, and Beth Wicke for her efforts in assembling and motivating a terrific
cast. We also appreciate the talented engineering work of Alex Fahan, Thomas Sanitate’s sound
expertise, Steve Barcy’s skilled camera work, and Debra Andriano’s administrative help. We
appreciate Rutgers University’s Eric Polino and Jim Drumheller for allowing us to use their
interview bloopers video in conjunction with this book. We also thank the many people who
shared their stories and staffing tools and allowed us to include them for your benefit.
We firmly believe that learning should be fun and not boring, and wrote the book with this
goal in mind. The information in this book can not only help you to staff more effectively but
by understanding the hiring process it can help you to secure a better job as well. We hope you
enjoy reading it, and welcome your feedback at phillipsgully@gmail.com!
Jean Phillips and Stan Gully
Pearson would like to thank and acknowledge Bhavani Ravi, HR consultant, for her contributions to the Global Edition. Pearson would also like to thank Anushia Chelvarayan (Multimedia
University), Bindu Chhabra (International Management Institute), and Nilanjana Sinha (NSHM
Business School) for reviewing and providing suggestions that helped in improving the Global
Edition.
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About the Authors
Jean Phillips is a professor in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers
University. For over 15 years, she has taught classroom and hybrid classroom/online courses
to executive, professional, and full-time students in staffing, strategic human resource management, organizational behavior, management, and teams and leadership in the United States and
in Singapore.
Dr. Phillips earned her BA and PhD in business administration and organizational behavior from Michigan State University. Her research interests focus on recruitment and staffing,
leadership and team effectiveness, and issues related to learning organizations. Her works have
appeared in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational
Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Small Group Research,
Journal of Business and Psychology, International Journal of Human Resource Management,
and HR Magazine.
Dr. Phillips was among the top 5 percent of published authors in Journal of Applied
Psychology and Personnel Psychology during the 1990s and received the 2004 Cummings
Scholar Award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management. She
has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management,
and Personnel Psychology. Dr. Phillips is also a member of the Academy of Management and
the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her consulting work includes creating and evaluating strategic staffing programs, coaching on enhancing leadership performance
and the effectiveness of work teams, strategic human resource management, and developing
employer value propositions.
Stan Gully is a professor in the Department of Human Resource Management in the School of
Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. He has authored or presented numerous papers, research articles, and book chapters on a variety of topics. His works have appeared
in Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Journal of Applied Psychology,
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Organizational Behavior,
Organizational Research Methods, and Personnel Psychology among other outlets.
Dr. Gully earned his master’s and PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from
Michigan State University. He has taught courses at the undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and
executive master’s level covering content such as organizational learning and innovation, recruiting and staffing, human resource management, performance management, training and development, and leadership. He has taught using traditional and hybrid technologies in the United States,
Singapore, and Indonesia. Dr. Gully has won awards for the quality of his research, teaching, and
service, and he has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of
Management Journal, Journal of Management, and Journal of Organizational Behavior.
His applied work includes, but is not limited to, management at a major parcel delivery firm, assessment of the effectiveness of an employer branding initiative, design of various
training programs, development of guidelines for training leaders of interdependent work teams,
evaluation of recruiting source effectiveness, and implementation of a multisource feedback system. His research interests include strategic recruiting, leadership and team effectiveness, training, and organizational learning.
19
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Chapter
1
Strategic Staffing
Outline
Improving Store Performance at Caribou Coffee
The Staffing Context
Defining Strategic Staffing
How Strategic Staffing Differs from Traditional Staffing
The Components of Strategic Staffing
Workforce Planning
Sourcing and Recruiting Talent
Selecting Talent
Acquiring Talent
Deploying Talent
Retaining Talent
Matchmaking Process
The Goals of Strategic Staffing
Identifying Staffing Goals
Evaluating the Staffing System
Integrating the Functional Areas of Human Resource Management
Develop Your Skills: Internet Staffing Resources
Training
Compensation
Performance Management
Career Development and Succession Management
The Organization of This Book
Improving Store Performance at Caribou Coffee
Summary
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
◾ Understand why staffing is critical to an organization’s performance.
◾ Define strategic staffing and contrast it with less strategic views of staffing.
◾ Describe the seven components of strategic staffing.
◾ Understand staffing goals.
◾ Describe how staffing influences and is affected by the other functional areas of human resource
management.
21
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22
Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
Improving Store Performance at Caribou Coffee
After establishing their first coffee house in 1992, Caribou Coffee Company cofounders John and
Kim Puckett quickly grew the company. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Caribou Coffee
Company is now the nation’s second largest specialty coffee company with almost 500 companyowned stores and over 6,000 employees.1 The company also sells its coffee, equipment, and other goods
through the Caribou Coffee Web site and various retail partners.
Caribou’s leaders logically assumed that customer service was the reason customers returned to their
stores. This made sense, particularly given the company’s emphasis on the customer service skills of
all of its employees, including district managers who were responsible for eight to fourteen locations.
But the fact that store success varied more across district managers than within a single district manager’s stores created a puzzle: If there was an across-the-board focus on customer service, why was the
performance of each district manager’s stores so similar, but the performance of each district manager
different? Did the higher-performing district managers communicate more effectively to customers and
associates? Were they better at developing employees? What exactly accounted for the difference?2
Imagine that Caribou Coffee approaches you for ideas as to what its highest-performing district
managers must be doing or offering to consistently outperform the others. After reading this chapter,
you should have some good ideas.
People’s efforts, talents, knowledge, and skills matter to organizations. If you don’t believe this
is true, then fire all your organization’s employees and replace them with cheaper labor. Few
successful organizations would accept this challenge because they understand that their people
are the key to their performance and survival. A competitive advantage is something that a company can do differently from its rivals that allows it to perform better, survive, and succeed in its
industry. Sometimes an organization’s competitive advantage is defined by its technology. Other
times, innovative product lines, low-cost products, or excellent customer service drive competitive advantage. In each case, the company’s employees create, enhance, or implement the company’s competitive advantage.
How do people make a difference? At companies like Facebook and Google, key technology is devised, implemented, and updated by the people who create and use it. Employees at
Apple Computer, Pfizer, and 3M create and sell new and innovative product lines. Employees
identify and implement the manufacturing system improvements that create low-cost, high-­
quality automobiles at Hyundai. Finally, the service at Starbucks is all about employee–customer
interactions and experiences. In each of these cases, employees influence and implement the key
drivers of the success of the business. Depending on the business, it may be true that the decisions made by marketing, finance, R&D, or some other department are the most impactful for a
company. But all business decisions are made by employees. Hiring and retaining only mediocre
talent is likely to result in mediocre decisions and performance. Moreover, bad hires can be
very costly to organizations in terms of revenue or productivity losses, legal issues, and lowered
employee morale and client relationships.3
Effective staffing is the cornerstone of successful human resource management—it lays the
foundation for an organization’s future performance and survival. Why is it so important? Staffing
is important because its outcomes determine who will work for and represent a company, and what
its employees will be willing and able to do. As a result, staffing influences the success of future
training, performance management, and compensation programs as well as the organization’s ability to execute its business strategy. Perhaps no other single activity has the potential to have as great
an impact on employees’ capabilities, behaviors, and performance as identifying and obtaining the
talent that the organization will ultimately use to produce its products or services. For some jobs,
the performance difference between an average and an exceptional performer can be quite high.
For example, because Google knows that an exceptional technologist’s performance is as much as
300 times higher than that of an average one, it is willing to invest heavily in sourcing, recruiting,
and hiring top technical talent.4 Many successful companies give employee recruitment, retention, and motivation the same high-level attention as their other core business functions, such as
marketing, finance, and research and development. Research has confirmed that staffing practices
are positively related to both profitability and profit growth.5 Effective staffing can also enhance
the performance of an organization’s shares in the stock market. A survey by a large consulting
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Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
23
firm found that a strong staffing function led to greater shareholder return. In particular, companies
that had a clear idea of whom they wanted to hire and that judged applicants against clear criteria
outperformed companies with weaker staffing functions.6
By collaborating with hiring managers and influencing the flow of talent into, through, and
out of an organization, staffing professionals play an important strategic role in organizations.
Effective staffing requires a partnership between hiring managers and staffing professionals in
the human resource management department. Staffing professionals bring expertise to the workforce planning and staffing processes, including evaluating what a job requires; identifying what
competencies, skills, personalities, and so forth, are required for job success; and assessing those
characteristics in job applicants. As the expert in the job itself, the hiring manager provides input
throughout the process and typically makes the final hiring decision after the staffing specialist
generates and screens a much larger pool of applicants. In addition to promoting the goals of
their firms, staffing professionals promote the goals of society by helping match people with jobs
and organizations in which they are able to be successful and happy.
This chapter begins with an explanation of the context in which staffing operates, followed
by a definition of strategic staffing. We then discuss how strategic staffing is different from less
strategic ways of looking at staffing, what strategic staffing entails, and why it matters. We then
describe the importance of integrating staffing with the other areas of human resource management (i.e., training, compensation, performance management, career development, and succession
management). Finally, we explain our plan for the rest of the book and describe some of the core
ideas that we will present in each chapter. After reading this chapter, you should understand why a
company’s staffing practices must be consistent with its business strategy and with the other areas
of human resource management if they are to support the larger goals of the organization.
The Staffing Context
There are almost 6 million employers in the United States,7 employing anywhere from one to
hundreds of thousands of people. Over 143 million jobs existed in the United States in May of
2013.8 Millions of employees are hired or separated every month, making staffing a multibilliondollar business.9
Many forces in an organization’s environment influence its staffing activities. For example, as globalization expands, companies are increasingly searching the world for talent. This
has resulted in greater competition for top talent and has made it more difficult for firms to hire
the best workers. Global competition for a firm’s products and services also influences staffing because the increased competition can lower the company’s profit margins and leave fewer
­resources available for its staffing activities.
Technological changes have also dramatically influenced the ways in which firms hire and
manage their employee relationships. Technology has made it easier for firms to track and develop
their employees’ skills as well as recruit and hire new employees. The Internet and mobile technologies have changed the way organizations recruit and hire, and changed the ways many people now
look for jobs. Similarly, database software systems have greatly facilitated the staffing evaluation
process, making it easier to evaluate a staffing system and address any underperforming parts.
Many different legal and societal forces shape firms’ staffing activities, too. For example,
firms face antidiscrimination laws and laws that hold them responsible for the damaging actions
of their employees if they fail to exercise reasonable care in hiring them. Applicants responding
negatively to a firm’s recruiting or selection methods, employees demanding greater work-life
balance, or customers no longer buying the products of a firm that lays off domestic workers and
hires cheaper labor abroad can influence a firm’s future staffing choices as well.
Together these forces drive the way organizations identify, attract, assess, and integrate
talent into the workforce. Talent management is the implementation of integrated strategies
or systems designed to increase workplace productivity by developing improved processes for
attracting, developing, retaining, and utilizing people with the required skills and aptitude to
meet current and future business needs.10 As one expert put it, “The ability to execute business
strategy is rooted in the ability to attract, retain, and develop key talent. Successful talent management creates the most enduring competitive advantage. No company can afford to be unprepared for both the best and worst of times.”11 This book addresses the role that staffing can play
in the talent management process.
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talent management
attracting, developing, retaining, and
utilizing people with the required skills
and aptitudes to meet current and
future business needs
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24
Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
Defining Strategic Staffing
strategic staffing
the process of staffing an organization
in future-oriented, goal-directed ways
that support the business strategy
of the organization and enhance its
effectiveness
Strategic staffing is the process of staffing an organization in future-oriented, goal-directed
ways that support the business strategy of the organization and enhance its effectiveness.12 This
involves the movement of people into, through, and out of the organization.
This definition differs from the way companies often staff themselves. For example, too
many organizations still fill a job opening by putting the same job announcement they have been
using for years in one or two recruiting sources, such as a job board or newspaper, and make a
hiring decision based on a gut feeling they get during an interview. In other words, they don’t put
sufficient thought or planning into hiring in the way that best helps the firm execute its business
strategy with an eye toward the future.13 The focus of strategic staffing is the integration of staffing practices with business strategy and with the other areas of human resource management to
enhance organizational performance.
How Strategic Staffing Differs from Traditional Staffing
strategy
a long-term plan of action to achieve a
particular goal
A strategy is a long-term plan of action to achieve a particular goal. Traditional staffing tends
to focus on quickly and conveniently filling an opening rather than on aligning the staffing
effort with the long-term strategic needs of the organization. By contrast, strategic staffing
entails both short- and long-term planning. The process involves acquiring, deploying, and
retaining the right number of employees with the appropriate talents to effectively execute this
strategy, focusing on maximizing return on investment rather than simply minimizing costs.
When done strategically, staffing can enable a company to acquire a sustainable competitive
advantage that allows it to successfully fulfill its mission and reach its goals. To illustrate what
we mean by strategic staffing and how it differs from “less strategic” ways of thinking about
staffing, let’s consider how two hypothetical organizations fill job openings. The first company,
Treds, has a less-strategic staffing process.
As the store manager of Treds, a popular shoe store in a local shopping mall, Ron knows he cannot
afford to be understaffed during the upcoming holiday season. As soon as his assistant manager, Sandy,
tells him she is quitting, Ron reaches into his file drawer and pulls out the job description (description
of the job requirements) and person specification (description of the qualifications and competencies
required of a person performing the job description) he used to hire her two years earlier. He quickly
scans it, decides that it would be all right to use it again without making any changes, and forwards it to
his regional manager along with a job requisition to get permission to hire a replacement.
When Lee, who is in Treds’s human resource department, receives the approved job requisition and
job description from Ron’s boss, she checks how the company typically finds assistant managers. She sees
that when it last hired an assistant manager, the firm posted an ad in the local paper. Lee can’t tell from
the company’s records how many people had applied after seeing the ad. However, she decides that if it
worked before, it should work again. So, she places the same “help wanted” ad in the store’s local paper.
After two weeks, seven people have responded to the recruitment ad and submitted their résumés.
Three of them lack the previous retail experience Lee sees as a minimum qualification for the position.
After reading the other four résumés, Lee sets up telephone interviews with all four of them. She never
gets back to the three applicants who lack retail experience to let them know that they are not being
considered further.
After interviewing the four candidates over the phone about how interested they are in the job
and confirming they have appropriate education and experience, Lee decides that three of them merit
an interview and schedules them to meet with Ron at the store. At that point, Lee does not let the
rejected candidate know that she is no longer being considered for the position.
Ron asks the three candidates individually about their work history and what they are looking for
from the job and decides to hire Alex. Alex seems eager to start as soon as possible. Although he doesn’t
have a lot of retail management experience, Ron hopes he will be able to learn quickly on the job even
though Treds doesn’t have a formal training program. Alex receives a job offer contingent upon his
passing a drug test and background check. After the background report and drug tests come back favorably, Alex accepts the job offer.
Ron sends Alex a copy of Treds’s policy manual and schedules, and he reports to work the
­following Monday. The other finalists are not informed that the position has been filled until they call
Ron to follow up.
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The second company, Soles, illustrates a better strategic staffing process.
Amy, the manager of popular shoe retailer Soles, has to replace her departing assistant manager, Ken,
who has worked with her for the past two years. To be prepared for the upcoming holiday season, Amy
would like to replace Ken as quickly as possible. She sets aside some time in her busy day to think about
what she needs in an assistant manager.
Amy goes to her computer and reviews the job description she used when hiring Ken two years ago.
“It is a good description of the job,” she thinks, “but it seems like something is missing.” Amy thinks
about how the store’s competitive landscape has changed over the past few years. When she first started
working at Soles four years ago, there was only one other shoe retailer in the mall in which it is located.
Now there are five, and two of them offer lower prices on shoes that compete with some of Soles’s key
product lines. Amy knows that her company can’t lower its prices, but she feels that if her store offers
excellent customer service, her customers will be willing to pay higher prices for her store’s shoes. Also,
Soles is planning to move all store transactions to tablets rather than the fixed register stations, so having
an assistant manager with technological skills would also be useful.
Amy calls her human resource representative, Mike, to get some assistance in analyzing what her
new assistant manager should be able to do. After performing a job analysis and determining what the
job requires, Amy sends a revised job description to her regional manager along with a job requisition
to get permission to hire a replacement.
After receiving hiring approval, Mike gives some thought to the qualifications and competencies
Amy listed for the position. He tries to figure out where people with those qualifications might be so that
he can find a way to let them know about the job opportunity. Mike realizes that the company’s salary
is competitive with the other stores in the mall but not different enough to attract applicants. He thinks
about the other aspects of the job that could appeal to a talented potential recruit. The company has
good benefits, a good performance assessment and training program, and tries to promote from within.
Although he probably won’t be able to hire a very experienced assistant manager in light of the salary
he can offer, the opportunity should appeal to someone with at least some experience—someone who
would like to advance through Soles’s managerial ranks.
Mike reviews the data about how the company has been most successful in hiring past assistant
managers. He then brainstorms with Amy about where they might find qualified and interested people.
He also decides to visit some of the other stores in the mall to evaluate their employees and see if any
of them might be suited for the job. While at the stores, he pays p­ articular attention to how the assistant
managers there interact with customers and evaluates the strength of their customer service skills. In
addition, Mike posts a job advertisement on the job board of a local college that offers a degree in fashion design. The ad emphasizes that Soles is searching for someone with managerial experience, fashion
knowledge, technological skills, and excellent customer service skills.
Within two weeks, Mike has recruited five promising mall employees to apply for the position and
received 15 applications from the college’s job board. He screens the résumés for retail and managerial
experience, and identifies three mall employees and seven candidates from the college who appear to
be promising candidates. He immediately sets up phone meetings with all ten of them, and asks them
each a series of questions designed to assess their knowledge of retail management and their customer
service orientation. He then evaluates their answers and invites five of them to take a written test that
assesses their management skills and intellectual curiosity (which the company has identified as being
related to better customer interactions, service performance, and continuous learning on the job). The
five applicants who are not being considered further are sent a letter thanking them for their interest in
the position and explaining that they are not being considered further.
During the testing phase, the five candidates are given instructions and asked to perform several
timed tasks using the Internet. Mike then shows them around the company’s regional headquarters and
answers their questions about the company and the job opportunity. He schedules the three top scorers
to meet with Amy at the store, and calls the other two to let them know that they are no longer being
considered for the position.
Amy goes online to the company’s hiring resource center and downloads a series of questions the
company has developed to assess the competencies needed for the job and some questions the company
uses to assess customer service skills. She completes the brief online training refresher module on conducting and scoring the interviews, and meets with the three candidates. She finds all three impressive
but feels that Jose is most qualified for the position. After passing a drug test and background check as
well as some additional screening, Jose accepts the job.
Before Jose works in the store, he reviews the company’s policies online and receives a copy of the
store’s policy manual. He is introduced to the assistant managers at several other Soles locations, given
their contact information, and encouraged to call them if he has any questions about the job. Amy meets
with Jose to review the company’s performance expectations and answer any questions he has. She also
schedules him to work with her for a few shifts to help him quickly learn his new job.
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Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
Mike contacts the other two finalists to let them know that although they did not get the job, he feels
that they would be very competitive for other assistant manager positions. He then asks if they would
be interested in being considered for other job opportunities that come up in the next few months. Mike
knows that the turnover of assistant managers is typically 20 percent a year. Consequently, he expects
the company to have three more openings in nearby stores within a month or two. The two finalists say
yes, giving Mike two very strong candidates for his next openings.
Mike then ensures that the data on each of the job applicants is successfully entered into Soles’s
staffing evaluation database, including the recruiting source that produced them, and whether they were
hired or not. He knows that this will be useful for future recruiting purposes.
Which company is likely to perform better as a result of its staffing process? Good strategic staffing systems incorporate the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Longer-term planning
Alignment with the firm’s business strategy
Alignment with the other areas of human resources
Alignment with the labor market
Targeted recruiting
Sound candidate assessment on factors related to job success and longer-term potential
The evaluation of staffing outcomes against preidentified goals
Clearly, this better describes Soles’s staffing process.
Both companies would say they engage in the staffing process as mapped in Figure 1–1.
Both planned, decided where to advertise the job opening, recruited applicants, and selected who
should receive a job offer, but clearly they did so in very different ways. Mike’s decision to seek
out local college students was aligned with his need to hire people with fashion knowledge and
a willingness to learn, and who likely have retail experience. Getting back to rejected applicants
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A Flowchart of the Staffing Process
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Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
27
to let them know that they are no longer being considered helps keep them feeling positive about
the company so they will be willing to shop at Soles and apply for jobs with it again in the future.
Figure 1–1 illustrates the general staffing process and identifies whether the applicant,
human resource department, or hiring manager is responsible for each stage. The staffing process
begins when a hiring manager determines there is a need for a position, which could be due to
turnover or the creation of a new job. If necessary, the human resource department conducts a job
analysis, and the hiring manager gets a job requisition approved that authorizes him or her to fill
the position. Human resource personnel then recruit appropriate applicants and advertise the job
opportunity. Applicants apply for the job, and the human resource department screens them to
identify those to consider further. By further assessing the remaining candidates, the department
screens out applicants who are a poor fit for the job and identifies the finalists for the position.
The hiring manager subsequently interviews them and determines who should receive the job
offer. The firm then makes a job offer contingent upon the candidate passing any background
check, drug test, or other tests. If that candidate turns down the offer or fails to pass the assessment, another candidate receives a contingent job offer until someone is hired. The organization
begins socializing the new employee to familiarize him or her with the job and the organization
and to help the new employee become productive as quickly as possible.
Companies also differ in how proactively they manage their existing workforce. Software
company SAS developed an employee retention program that crunches data on the skills, profiles, studies, and friendships of employees who have quit in the past five years and then finds
current employees with similar patterns. Another SAS program identifies the workers most
likely to experience accidents.14
Our goal in this book is to help you understand how to design and better strategically execute the staffing process in ways that will lead to higher-quality staffing decisions and enhanced
organizational performance. We will not only describe the strategic staffing process, but also
discuss how to make it more effective in helping a firm meet its goals. When we use the term
staffing in this book we are referring to strategic staffing.
The Components of Strategic Staffing
There are seven staffing activities that, if done well strategically, create a staffing system that
­supports business strategy and organizational performance. The seven activities are planning, sourcing, recruiting, selecting, acquiring, deploying, and retaining talent. Table 1–1 summarizes how each
of the seven is important strategically. We next discuss each of these seven activities in more detail.
Workforce Planning
Workforce planning is the process of predicting an organization’s future employment needs
and assessing its current employees and the labor market to meet those needs. This means that
the firm’s managers and HR personnel have to evaluate the company’s current lines of business,
new businesses it will be getting into, lines of business it will be leaving, and the gaps that exist
workforce planning
the process of predicting an
organization’s future employment
needs and the availability of current
employees and external hires to meet
those employment needs and execute
the organization’s business strategy
Table 1-1   Seven Components of Strategic Staffing
1. Workforce Planning: strategically evaluating the company’s current lines of business,
new businesses it will be getting into, businesses it will be leaving, and the gaps
between the current skills in the organization and the skills it will need to execute its
business strategy
2. Sourcing Talent: locating qualified individuals and labor markets from which to recruit
3. Recruiting Talent: making decisions and engaging in practices that affect either the
number or types of individuals willing to apply for and accept job offers
4. Selecting Talent: assessing job candidates and deciding who to hire
5. Acquiring Talent: putting together job offers that appeal to chosen candidates, and
persuading job offer recipients to accept those job offers
6. Deploying Talent: assigning people to appropriate jobs and roles in the organization
to best utilize their talents
7. Retaining Talent: keeping successful employees engaged and committed to the firm
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Chapter 1 • Strategic Staffing
between the current skills of its workforce and the skills the workforce will need in the future.
For example, if a manufacturing business is planning to expand, then it will likely need to hire
more people in areas like sales and production. If the company is planning to automate some of
its production activities, then it will likely need fewer employees, but the employees it already
has may need new skills related to the new technologies.
Workforce planning usually involves the joint efforts of both the hiring manager and
a staffing specialist. The staffing specialist looks at the organization’s forecasted business
activities and determines the number and types of people needed by the organization. The
staffing specialist then uses the organization’s business strategy to specify further the competencies and talents the organization will need to execute its business strategy. To plan for
expected job openings, the staffing specialist assesses both the organization’s current employees and the external labor market of potential new hires to gauge the availability of desired
talent. The specialist then secures the resources needed to engage in an appropriate staffing
effort. After working with the hiring manager to identify the talent profiles most appropriate
for an open position, the staffing specialist develops recruitment and selection strategies to
obtain the desired talent.
Without first identifying the competencies and behaviors the firm needs to execute
its business strategy, it is difficult, if not impossible, to develop effective recruiting, staffing, and retention plans to meet those needs. Identifying and securing necessary resources,
­delegating responsibilities, and creating a timeline are also important outcomes of the planning stage. Planning activities can be short-term and focus on an immediate hiring need, or
long-term and focus on the organization’s needs in the future. Workforce plans are more
strategic if they better address both the firm’s short- and long-term needs. The plans can also
address how a firm will address demographic issues, such as an aging workforce and diversity issues.
Sourcing and Recruiting Talent
sourcing
locating qualified individuals and
labor markets from which to recruit
recruiting
all organizational practices and
decisions that affect either the number
or types of individuals willing to apply
for and accept job offers
M01_PHIL3491_03_GE_C01.indd 28
Sourcing is a component of recruiting that focuses on locating qualified individuals and labor
markets from which to recruit. For example, a sourcing specialist responsible for identifying
potential applicants for pharmaceutical sales representative positions may learn that experienced nurses make excellent pharmaceutical salespeople because of their ability to communicate
with physicians, and persuade them to prescribe the firm’s drugs. The sourcing specialist then
­identifies where nurses can be found and how best to reach them, perhaps by placing recruiting
advertisements in nursing publications.
Recruiting refers to all organizational practices and decisions that affect either the number
or types of individuals willing to apply for and accept job offers.15 Recruiting is how firms of all
sizes generate a sufficiently large group of applicants from which to select qualified individuals for available jobs.16 Sourcing focuses on identifying desirable people and finding ways to
reach them; recruiting converts these people into actual applicants. Many organizations consider
sourcing to require different skills than recruiting. Consequently, they hire both sourcing specialists and recruiting specialists. Because people who don’t apply can’t be hired, sourcing and
recruiting are critical to an effective staffing effort.
Recruiting practices include evaluating which recruiting sources generate greater proportions of high-performing employees who do well in their jobs17 and improve the firm’s performance.18 A firm’s recruiters, their behavior, the messages they send, and the sources from which
they recruit affect whether people choose to become or remain applicants of the firm and accept
its job offers.19 The primary goal of recruiting is to get the right people interested in working for
an organization or in a specific job, persuade them to apply for it, and then ultimately accept the
job offer if it’s extended.
If recruiting is done poorly, few people will apply for a job with the company, and more of
those who do apply will drop out of the hiring process. In other words, organizations that disrespect
job candidates or who fail to meet their information-gathering needs during the recruiting process
will be less able to hire them. As a result, more of the company’s job offers will be rejected, and the
people who end up being hired might not be as committed to the job or the company as they would
if a better recruiting job had been done. Moreover, applicants with a bad recruiting experience are
likely to tell others about it, making it harder for the organization to recruit people in the future.
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Because they are unlikely to apply for future jobs with the company, the company is likely to lose
the opportunity to hire unhappy current job applicants for future jobs as well.
Both organizations and individuals use a screening process when forming an employment
relationship. Applicants can select themselves out of consideration for a job at any time. It is
thus important that recruitment activities continue during the candidate assessment and selection
process to maintain candidates’ interest in the job and organization.
Another component of recruiting is employer branding, or creating a favorable image
in desired applicants’ minds about the organization being a good place for them to work.
For example, Royal Philips Electronics tells potential employees that the company gives
them an opportunity to work in an environment where “you can touch lives every day.” 20
When potential applicants are considering whether to apply to a particular organization,
they evaluate factors including whether the organization is a place they would like to work.
Because most applicants do not know very much about what different organizations are like
as employers, many companies proactively craft employer brands for themselves through
marketing and advertising. For example, Federated Department Stores created an employment brand and recruitment Web site called Retailology.com. Starbucks has employed a
“Program Manager for Employer Branding,” whose job it is to promote the coffee chain as a
great place to work.
Selecting Talent
The selection process involves putting applicants through activities such as skills tests and
employment interviews to evaluate their capabilities and qualifications so that the organization
can choose whom to hire. The methods an organization uses to assess and select job candidates
will determine how well the firm’s new hires, and thus the company as a whole, will perform.21
Of course, the effectiveness of the selection process depends in part on recruitment. If a
recruiting effort generates 1,000 applicants but only a few of them are qualified, this bogs down
the selection process.
Targeted recruiting practices that prescreen applicants can result in fewer but higher ­quality
applicants than can general recruiting practices. For example, if a pharmaceutical sales position
requires a certain amount of medical knowledge that nurses with certain credentials have, then
the recruiting effort might prescreen applicants by locating nurses with the required credentials.
Prescreening saves the organization both time and money because it does not have to sift through
as many underqualified applicants during the selection process.
In contrast, if recruitment efforts fail to generate qualified applicants, then it is impossible
for any selection system to identify them. It is not surprising that the effectiveness of various
selection practices, such as interviews and skill testing, vary dramatically with a firm’s recruitment practices.22 Historically, organizations have tried to maximize the quality of their new
hires by focusing on recruiting a large number of applicants, then relying on various applicant
assessment methods to identify the highest quality candidates. However, it is important to note
that there is no guarantee that the appropriate qualifications will be present in any applicant pool,
regardless of its size.
The goal of strategic recruiting, therefore, is to attract a greater percentage of applicants who
are likely to meet minimum hiring requirements and reduce the burden on the selection system. It
is also very possible that the hiring gains will come with a reduced administrative burden and lower
cost per hire, even if the initial cost of the recruiting system is higher. When we examine staffing
and retention from these perspectives, it is easy to see why many companies make the search for the
right talent their top priority. As a manager of one high-technology company stated, “The quality of
our talent is as important as our technologies. The quality of our talent is how we win in our business.”23 The same is true for most nontechnology-oriented businesses as well.
selection
assessing job candidates and deciding
whom to hire
Acquiring Talent
Acquiring talent involves putting together job offers that appeal to chosen candidates and persuading job offer recipients to accept those job offers. Although many job offers are presented on
a take-it-or-leave-it basis, organizations sometimes negotiate job offer terms with the candidates
they want to hire. Job offers can include salary, health care, retirement contributions, vacation
time, relocation expenses, housing allowances, and other benefits. The employment contract,
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or written offer to the candidate, then formalizes the outcome of the negotiations. In addition to
specifying the job’s compensation, such as salary, bonus, long-term accounting, and stock-based
compensation, the employment contract addresses other aspects of the relationship between the
employee and the firm—for example, retirement or severance payments, procedures governing
conflict resolution, and restrictions on the employee’s ability to engage in other activities, such
as doing similar work for other firms.
Although the terms of an employment contract help to align a new hire’s behavior with the
firm’s business strategy, many companies do not have comprehensive explicit (written) employment agreements or they have an explicit agreement that covers only limited aspects of their
relationships. A case in point: in 2005, less than half of S&P 500 firms had an explicit written
employment contract with their CEOs.24 In lieu of an explicit agreement, these firms and their
CEOs rely on implicit contracts through which the CEO is employed “at will.” We will discuss
employment contracts in greater detail in Chapters 3 and 11.
Deploying Talent
deployment
assigning talent to appropriate jobs
and roles in the organization
Deployment involves assigning talent to appropriate jobs and roles in the organization. The
deployment of new talent and the redeployment of existing employees as needed are both relevant to optimally leveraging an organization’s talent. For example, assigning a technically
capable programmer who dislikes interacting with people to a sales position would be a talent
deployment mistake.
Socialization is the process of familiarizing newly hired and promoted employees with
their jobs, work groups, and the organization as a whole. It is an important step in terms
of ­getting these people up to speed quickly. 25 Some organizations simply give new hires
a ­manual of company policies and show them to their desks. Instead, it is critical to take
the time to help them form appropriate expectations about the company’s corporate culture,
suggest ways for them to adjust and perform well in their new jobs, provide them with the
emotional support they need to improve their satisfaction and job success, and increase their
commitment to the firm.26
Over time, firms can develop employees’ skills and capabilities, resulting in a broader set
of deployment options. Through succession management and career development, employees
can acquire new skills and be prepared to assume different and higher-level positions in the
organization. Internal talent development sometimes enables faster transitions and higher performance than does external hiring because existing employees are familiar with the organization’s
culture, customers, and how work gets done most efficiently (i.e., they understand how the firm’s
internal systems work and the strengths and weaknesses of people in key positions).
Retaining Talent
Succession management and career development are also effective tools for retaining high-­
performing employees. It can be frustrating to locate and hire the right talent only to watch these
people leave after a short time. Turnover is expensive, especially when it is the best performers who are leaving. Although the turnover of poor performers can be beneficial, the departure
of key employees can be devastating. Losing excellent employees to a competitor is an even
greater loss. Retaining successful employees also means that the organization spends less time
and fewer resources filling job vacancies in the future.
Matchmaking Process
Strategic staffing is a matchmaking process that involves much more than simply generating
applications for an open position. Recruiting and selection are interdependent, two-way processes in which both employers and recruits try to look appealing to the other while learning as
much as they can about their potential fit. Although applicants choose organizations as much as
organizations choose applicants, too often organizations focus exclusively on selection at the
expense of effective recruitment. Because applicants can drop out of the hiring process at any
time, recruitment does not end when the employment application is submitted. The applicant
is no longer a recruit only when either side is no longer interested in pursuing an employment
relationship. Recruitment continues throughout the selection and acquisition process until the
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person is no longer a viable job candidate, or until a job offer is accepted and the person reports
for work. Some firms even try to continuously “recruit” employees to maintain their attractiveness as an employer and enhance retention.
The Goals of Strategic Staffing
Identifying Staffing Goals
Creating hiring goals that are clearly linked to organizational strategies and objectives guides the
strategic staffing process. Process goals relate to the hiring process itself, including how many
of what quality applicants apply, attracting appropriate numbers of diverse applicants, and meeting hiring timeline goals, such as completing interviews within two weeks and making job offers
within one week of the final interview. Outcome goals apply to the product of the hiring effort
and include the number and quality of people hired, the financial return on the staffing investment, and whether the staffing effort improved organizational effectiveness. Table 1–2 presents
a sampling of the many possible staffing goals.
Not all these goals will be relevant in every hiring situation. Different goals are likely to
take priority at different times. It is also common for staffing goals to conflict. For example, it
can be challenging to hire top performers who will stay with the organization for many years
while simultaneously filling jobs quickly and minimizing staffing costs.
Firms that do not staff strategically are often focused on goals such as the time it takes
to fill an opening, the number of hires a recruiter produces in a period of time, and the
cost per hire. Although these can be useful goals for improving the efficiency of the staffing
process, they are not necessarily aligned with improving the strategic performance of the
staffing system. For example, if executing the firm’s strategy requires hiring top-tier talent, the company’s recruiting goals should emphasize the quality of applicants versus hiring
speed. For some positions, hiring top talent that will stay with the organization for a long
time might be critical (perhaps if the positions are in management, long-term research and
development projects, or sales). There may be other positions for which average talent and
moderate ­turnover is acceptable.
The key objectives of the staffing effort28 can change over time and be different for different positions, too. Because, over time, jobs change and different technologies emerge, the people
best able to do a job as it exists today may be less able to do the job in a few years. And because
different organizations pursue different business strategies, each organization’s staffing goals are
likely to be different as well. Furthermore, differences usually exist in a single organization’s
staffing goals across positions and over time because positions change, and different positions
require different talents.
Table 1-2
 Examples of Staffing Goals27
Process Goals
• Attracting sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified applicants
• Complying with the law and any organizational hiring policies
• Fulfilling any affirmative action obligations
• Meeting hiring timeline goals
• Staffing efficiently
Outcome Goals
• Hiring individuals who succeed in their jobs
• Hiring individuals who will eventually be promoted
• Reducing turnover rates among high performers
• Hiring individuals for whom the other human resource functions will have the desired
impact (e.g., who will benefit from training, and who will be motivated by the firm’s
compensation package)
• Meeting stakeholder needs
• Maximizing the financial return on the organization’s staffing investment
• Enhancing the diversity of the organization
• Enabling organizational flexibility
• Enhancing the business’s strategy execution
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Table 1-3   Questions to Ask When Setting Staffing Goals
• Is it more important to fill the position quickly or fill it with someone who closely matches
…