Recruiting Strategy Recommendations Human Capital Management

Recruitment for the best and brightest talent is as competitive for the best and brightest talent as it is for companies competing wthin the same industry or business. In order for businesses, to be successful, and carry out their mission they need strong, talented, competent individuals to carry out the execution of the business strategy (Cascio, 2013). Bradley Stonefield’s company will be incorporated in Austin Texas and estimates hiring 25 employees. The projected annual growth is 5 percent with annual revenue for the upcoming year of $50,000. The workforce plan being proposed is intended to provide a certain level staffing to maintain the growth desired and increase revenue by approximately 5 percent annually. To begin the company, the staffing is approximately 25 employees with approximately 3 new hires annually over the next 5 years. The staffing for Stonefield’s Limousine Services will include the President/Owner, Bradley Stonefield, Assistant, Marge Stonefield, and 23 Chauffeurs. Maintenance and repair of limousines will be accomplished outside the company and therefore the staffing plan does not include those positions internally. Research into the limousine services currently within Austin, TX reveals that there quite a few limousine companies within Austin, TX. Our recommendation is that the limousine drivers be paid between $17,000 and $21,000 per year ("Http://www.indeed.com", 2013). A consideration that needs to be addressed and considered is diversity within the workforce for Stonefield Limousine. The current demographics of Austin Texas depicts over 50 percent of the population are white people, over 30 percent are Latino or Hispanic, and over 10 percent are African American. The split of males and females is for the most part equal. The population of male and female occupants over the age of 18 is almost 78 percent of the population, making the available market quite substantial. Of this sub-group over 18 years old, about half are male and half female ("Http://austintx.areaconnect.com", 2013). The current unemployment rate is around 4.8 percent (Http://ycharts.com", 2013). This is well below the national average for 2013 of 7.5 percent ("Http://data.bls.gov", 2013). While limousine drivers are mainly male, Bradley should strive to hire a well diverse staff of drivers. A number of important benefits are obtained through a diverse workforce. Workplaces in which employees represent the basic makeup of the community population are typically trusted more by the community and better received overall. Additionally, diverse work groups often have more and better ideas because of broader backgrounds and experiences. The ethnic and cultural differences within the Stonefield workforce will provide greater understanding of the clients requesting services from those same ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, Bradley cannot simply put a group of people together with vast differences and expect them to work smoothly and effectively together. Chances are that there will be a great deal more differences than similarities within the workforce which creates a greater risk of conflict. Therefore, attention and training need to be given to the employees to minimize the conflict amongst employees. Bradley Stonefield should not only offer training, but as the owner and president of the diverse organization, he must set the tone for an effective work environment. This means fair treatment of all workers in the hiring process, job conditions, work evaluations and promotions. If Bradley proactively supports the diversity-based company, it will pay off in great dividends within the workplaces. In the case of Stonefield Limousine Service, organizational branding is not going to be useful as the company is brand new and the only service to be provided is limousine services. It will be imperative for Bradley to determine effective screening methods for hiring the most qualified drivers for the limousine company. Among those things that need to be considered and documented are such things as the prerequisites for the position, special requirements for the position or company, and what qualifications and attributes are critical to the position. Bradley Stonefield should consider the following as prerequisites for the position: Possess a clean driving record, ability to lift at least 50 pounds, must speak English, and must have familiarity with Austin Texas and the surrounding area. Austin Texas requires a chauffeur’s license. Applicants should possess the special license at the time they apply for a chauffeur position ("Www.ehow.com", 2013).When considering qualifications and attributes for the driver position, it is recommended that potential hires have previous customer service experience, no criminal record, confident, well groomed, possesses integrity, and possesses strong communication skills. Once candidates are put through the initial screening, Bradley should begin contacting qualified candidates for an interview. The interviewing method recommended is face to face with Bradley and Marge. The face to face interview allows him to see grooming habits, punctuality and a stronger sense of the candidate’s oral communication skills. This method will also allow him to gain better insight into the potential diversity of the candidates. The interview process recommended for the company is to schedule one hour interviews with pre-determined questions. The questions should be behavior and situational based. Bradley should provide the candidates with an overview of the company and the position expectations. He should make sure that most of the interview is spent having the candidate talk so that a good sense of competencies and information can be obtained. This is imperative to distinguish between people and choose the most qualified. Bradley should take notes during the interview to refer back to when reviewing candidates. He should provide the candidates with the opportunity to ask questions and then provide them some information on what the steps will be following the interviews. Lastly, Bradley needs to ensure that he is within the laws of proper interviewing. The best way to ensure this is to ask questions directly related to the candidates qualifications for the position and not ask questions that illicit information that is irrelevant to the position ("Www.hiring.monster.com", 2013). Bradley should explain to the interviewed candidates that he will be doing reference checks and requesting drug tests from all of those who are offered a position within the company. Drug users are far more likely to be involved in a workplace accident as a sober worker, and much more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim. Drug users miss time at work, take more days off and change jobs more frequently than non-drug users. The cost of a drug test is about $50.00 and the number of applicants and workers that test positive is about 4 percent (Cascio, 2013). The candidate selection process for Bradley is the process which determines the best fit from a pool of candidates. Bradley will utilize resumes, interviews, and reference checks to screen and ultimately select potential candidates. However, there are additional options that can further assist him in the selection process. For instance, he could have all candidates perform a mock driving situation to determine the proficiency of their driving skills, and customer service skills for dealing with a difficult client or situation. Once the candidates are selected they should be contacted and given offers of employment, contingent on passing a drug test. Following selection and the drug test, employees will be given an orientation to the company, including policies, benefits, and practices. The last area that needs to be considered in recruiting strategies and plans are the laws for recruitment and selection. Employers using neutral employment policies and practices that have a disproportionately negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), or national origin, or on an individual with a disability or class of individuals with disabilities, if the polices or practices at issue are not job-related and necessary to the operation of the business. The laws also prohibit an employer from using employment policies and practices that have a disproportionately negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older, if the policies or practices at issue are not based on a reasonable factor other than age ("Www.eeoc.gov", 2013). It is illegal for Bradley Stonefield to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of his or her race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information ("Www.eeoc.gov", 2013). For example, an employer may not refuse to give employment applications to people of a certain race. If a test is required to be taken by job applicants to take a test, the test must be necessary and related to the job and the employer may not exclude people of a particular race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, or individuals with disabilities. In addition, the employer may not use a test that excludes applicants age 40 or older if the test is not based on a reasonable factor other than age. If a job applicant with a disability needs an accommodation (such as a sign language interpreter) to apply for a job, the employer is required to provide the accommodation, so long as the accommodation does not cause the employer significant difficulty or expense ("Www.eeoc.gov", 2013). Following the recruiting strategies and selection strategies presented above, Bradley Stonefield must look at recruiting plans, following employee appraisals, to ensure that they were successful in hiring talented and competent employees. If not, the plan must be revised to ensure better quality applicants in the future. * | | | | | | |

References

Cascio, W. F. (2013). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (9th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. http://www.indeed.com. (2013). Retrieved from http://1. http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Carey-Limousine-of-l-Austin,-TX.html http://ycharts.com. (2013). Retrieved from http:// http://ycharts.com/indicators/austin_tx_unemployment_rate http://data.bls.gov. (2013). Retrieved from http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 www.hiring.monster.com. (2013). Retrieved from http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/interviewing-candidates/job-interview-process.aspx http://austintx.areaconnect.com. (2013). Retrieved from http://austintx.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm www.eeoc.gov. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/index.cfm