Carl Robins in This Scenario,

Carl Robins

In this scenario, ABC, Inc. recruiter Carl Robins' has been presented with several problems. His first and most immediately pressing problem is the questionable status of his new hires. His new team of employees has been scheduled for training and orientation, yet many have incomplete paperwork. None have been assigned to take the routine drug test that is part of the employment application. This calls into question the possibility that the recruits might be unfit to serve, and that Carl may need to hire new workers to fulfill the needs of ABC. The second problem is a lack of materials to train the new recruits and the fact that there is no available space to train them, given that the room in which the training was supposed to take place has been 'double booked.'

Carl Robins' most immediate problems are his lack of complete data on the individuals currently hired for training and lack of appropriate facilities to conduct the training. If the current employees have fraudulent credentials, then he must focus on replacing these prospective workers immediately! To make sure he will not be faced with any additional obstacles, the new employees must be contacted immediately and be instructed to send a completed application to Carl's office. They should be told that they must send an unofficial copy of their transcripts (to verify their academic credentials) to Carl as soon as possible AND instruct their universities to send official copies to Carl, to ensure that their grade reports are valid.

At a later date, Carl must discover why the applicants' files were incomplete for so long. Did Carl instruct one of his subordinates to carry out his orders, who them subsequently ignored his requests? Ultimately, Carl is responsible for whomever 'dropped the ball.' He must find the weak link in the chain of command and ensure that it does not happen again. But even if Carl is able to remedy the problem fairly swiftly without additional expense and grief at this time, and all of the applicants are swiftly brought into order, he must ensure this does not happen again. As well as speaking to the offending party, he should also institute standard verifications within HR every time there is a new hire. An applicant who proves to be unsatisfactory, or worse, incompetent, with an incomplete file and transcripts could result in serious repercussions for the company as well as for Carl's personal reputation.

While arranging for their applications to be completed, Carl should also make arrangements for the training location. A new, available location must be located at a nearby school, hotel conference room, or other area for the duration of the orientation period. If this is not possible, and there must be a delay, Monica Carrolls should be notified immediately. However, unless the applicants require computer terminals for their training, another room should be reasonably easy to obtain, and this should be the least of Carl's headaches. If the additional expense for an alternative room cannot be shouldered by the company, Carl could even block off a quiet hallway at ABC headquarters to conduct classes, or use the employee cafeteria (which is presumably not in use except during early morning and lunch hours). This situation is ideal, but would allow training to take place at the scheduled time, provided that all of the employee's credentials are valid.

Regarding locating the training room, this miscommunication indicates a failure in the chain of command, although not only in Carl's department. Operations and/or maintenance personnel must coordinate requests for space, and if there is a conflict, both parties should be notified immediately, rather than waiting until the last minute as was the case with this orientation session. However, Carl should have verified earlier that the room would be available for training.

Next, Carl should make arrangements for the drug testing of employees, to ensure that the prospective employees pass this requirement. Once again, this should be expedited so that training can take place at the selected facility as soon as possible. As the drug testing clinic handles the process, this should be relatively hassle-free. The only possible problem that could arise would be that prospective employees who were not made aware of the drug testing objected to it as a condition of employment, which might force Carl to look for new candidates to fill any open positions.

If any of the candidates test positive, of course, Carl might be faced with such an eventuality. This is yet another reason why holding the drug tests at such a relatively late juncture of the hiring process is so dangerous. Carl should ensure that within days of sending an acceptance to a candidate, this relatively 'pro forma' aspect of the hiring process is taken care of as soon as possible. Finally, the existing available training manuals should be immediately copied, once the missing three pages are located. If they cannot be located in a timely fashion, the copying should still take place, and the missing three pages can be added once they are found -- or can be reconstructed, based upon the existing materials.

Once again, although these practical problems can be remedied, it should be noted that they indicate deeper, systemic problems within the organization. Something as critical as an employee training manual should always be on hand and the manual should be in good condition. At any time, individual candidates may need to be oriented, and there should not be a scramble to obtain the handbook. For legal reasons as well, in case there are issues pertaining to employee harassment, the handbook should always be complete and on hand for reference for all managers.