Apple\'s Make vs. Buy Decision

Apple's Make vs. Buy Decision

Evaluating Approaches To Recruiting Most Suited for Apple's Talent Acquisition

Of the many approaches and techniques Apple could use for recruiting and talent acquisition, by far the most effective are the following three key success factors. First, determining the level of cultural congruence new potential employees have with the organizational climate is critical, followed by the depth of prospect's experiences in specific technical areas where Apple needs expertise to continually create new products. A third is the extent to which a potential new employee can quickly contribute to the unique Apple new product development process (Tariq, Ishrat, Khan, 2011). These three areas are the most important for the success of a new employee. Finding potential employees that meet these three criterion is exceptionally difficult as their combination fo cultural agility and technical skill make them highly sought after in new product development teams (Lynn, 1998). This type of employee is not specifically motivated to join one company over another based on the traditional recruiting advertising, public relations and promotional strategies used by the majority fo Apple's competitors globally. Instead, this is the type of employee who is motivated by autonomy, mastery and purpose in their work and the opportunity to accomplish a visionary product or idea. That vision or mission that many Apple employees share is what also makes their new product development process so effective, quick to respond to the market, and exceptionally high quality in products produced (Tariq, Ishrat, Khan, 2011). Through their approaches to creating teams of developers through a non-standard recruiting strategy they are able to attract the specific type of employee who can contribute to complex projects quickly and also excel in a corporate culture known for valuing independent thinking over excessive conformity (Lynn, 1998). The company doers use social media sites including LinkedIn to attract new potential employees, often taking tens of thousands of resumes a week for open positions. The continual screening process is one that separates those that have the unique skill sets required at Apple to succeed.

Analysis of Recruiter Traits and Behaviors That Lead To Successful Recruiting

The Apple culture is highly individualistic and some say non-conformist in its approach to new product development and creativity (Faust, 2011). It is a culture that celebrates intelligence and initiative over conformity and following the crowd, a point made abundantly clear in the user interfaces of their products (Stephani, 2011) and the core values of Steve Jobs, which continue to influence the company heavily today (Faust, 2011). Due to all of these factors, the recruiter traits and behaviors need to be congruent and well-aligned to these idiosyncrasies of the Apple culture. Recruiters need to thoroughly and passionately understand the legacy of the Apple culture, what it means to the many customers who have loyally bought products from them for years, and what the roles are of Apple employees in delighting customers with innovative new products and services. In short, the traits and behaviors need to revolve around a passion for Apple that clearly sets expectations of exceptional performance and commitment to delivering exceptional products over time (Tariq, Ishrat, Khan, 2011).

As Apple is one of the most demanding places to work from an engineering and new product development standpoint, a recruiter would also need to have behaviors and traits that showed confidence and assurance of company direction while also having the ability to articulate the more challenging aspects of working there. It is in many respects like a highly regarded college or university as a culture as it values intelligence and independence of thought and the ability to quickly take the conceptual to the concrete quickly (Faust, 2011). Recruiter traits and behaviors also need to center on an appreciation of the specific engineering disciplines they are interviewing candidates to fulfill. To make this part of who the interviewer is from the start,. It is highly recommended that the interviewers spent time in the product groups to understand their unique culture, and needs as they relate to the new positions opening up. The best recruiters will have a strong sense of the unspoken and innate needs of product teams by spending time around them to better appreciate their unique requirements and needs. All of these elements taken together will make a recruiter ideal for the task of hiring the best possible employees for each specific team within Apple.

Three Strategies Apple Can Use to Plan HR Resources

The first and most significant approach Apple can take to plan HR Resources is to concentrate on the new product development timeline and the pipeline of new products and technologies the company is creating. Apple is considered one of the best companies globally at using a product lifecycle management (PLM) based approach to planning and executing new products, often leading to new patents being created in the process (Tariq, Ishrat, Khan, 2011). This first strategy concentrates on understanding just what is required from the new product teams in terms of support and services, then aligning hiring plans accordingly to ensure the highest possible level of performance to hiring and recruitment goals.

A second strategy that the company can rely on to effectively plan HR Resources is to develop a series of check points throughout the hiring process to ensure the needs being evaluated with potential employees accurately align with the broader needs of the company as well. This continual, and recursive approach to developing a very clear idea of what is needed from a recruiting standpoint will be critical to overall success of program. Apple's HR needs can change rapidly depending on the new technologies being worked on and as a result it is important for HR to continually check back and see if and by how much requirements from product development teams have changed (Lynn, 1998).

A third approach is to create a series of 360-degree interviews of HR recruitment and management staffs with the teams who are doing the majority of recruiting at any given point in time to ensure that the total needs they have are understood. In addition to this, the focus on how best to manage expectations of the hiring department is also essential. Using the 360 degree review process and candid feedback HR and the hiring departments can stay better connected and communicating during the interview and recruitment process.

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