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...

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.
Although the above-cited measures will take care of Carl's immediate problems, what he must do for the long-term future of the company and his own sanity is to create standard operating procedures for hiring and orienting candidates. Candidates should have to produce an official transcript and take a drug test within days of being asked to join the company, and specific HR personnel should be in charge of ensuring this takes place. Checking for compliance early on is far easier than monitoring for compliance later in the process. Additionally, an employee has less legal cause or reason for feeling aggrieved if any potential conflicts or discrepancies arise during his or her pre-employment period, rather than later on.

A schedule of the use of the meeting room should be clearly posted from now on, to minimize overlapping use. Of course, administrative staff should also keep track of who has booked the room, but a clearly publicized schedule is an additional reminder to employees about scheduling events. The company might wish to consider having specific rooms only for the education of employees, to minimize the competition for rooms, if there is enough space at the facility.

The procedures for handling new hires is not something Carl should have to worry about year after year -- hiring is not 'reinventing the wheel,' rather it should be a familiar part of HR's standard operating procedures. Carl should not simply be asking 'what should I do now,' but also 'how can I do better in the future?'