Hiring strategies for attracting talent to new organizations

Staffing process of which I was a part focused on two primary considerations: first, the functionality of the employees within the organization and the need to ensure the new workers had the necessary qualifications to excel and secondly the extent to which the employees' personalities suited the organizational culture. In retrospect, I think there should have been a greater focus upon employees having the necessary interpersonal vs. technical skills. In fact, many organizations such as Southwest Airlines and Zappos primarily put an emphasis on hiring individuals with personalities well-suited to the organizational ethos vs. specific qualifications.

I also believe that during the hiring process there was too much focus on hiring people from within the industry rather than looking outside the box for more diverse experiences. Too much insularity can produce a cookie-cutter mentality within the organization that is not conducive to creativity. Even if people do not have industry-specific experience, if they have an excellent education or experience with entrepreneurship, this can signify an ambitious personality who is willing to go the extra mile in his or her position.

Finally, the question of creating attractive benefits packages can be problematic. As well as offering incentives like pay raises and promotional opportunities, the ability to work with a mentor and assume individual responsibility and direction over projects relatively recently in one's tenure at the organization is attractive to many top, young graduates right out of college. For an organization to attract the best and brightest, out-of-the-box thinking is needed to make a job offer suit the needs of people who are looking for jobs that excite their intellects. An organization wants employees who are looking for a vocation not simply a job that pays the bills and a transformational leadership ethic is required to achieve this. Once the right people are hired, the organization must continue to nurture them. "Meet your people individually to understand their developmental needs...help them to meet their career goals. What do they want to achieve in their role? Where do they see themselves five years from now? How can you help them reach this goal?" (Manktelow 2015).

Part 2: Components of staffing

It is essential that the organization view all components of staffing (recruitment, selection, and employment) from the perspective of the job applicant not HR. For example, simply because a salary is competitive within the organization does not mean that it is commensurate with what competitor organizations are offering top candidates. It is also important for HR to understand how it is framing the organization in terms of its self-presentation in the media. Google, Facebook, and Apple attract top candidates because they present themselves as fun organizations where new employees can grow and learn. Google specifically has tried to keep a start-up, 'Googley'-type atmosphere at the organization, disdaining hierarchies and fostering creativity, even while it has become one of the most successful multinationals in the world (Groysberg, Thomas, & Wagonfeld 2011). Innovative enterprises make it clear the employees enjoy working there and derive personal benefits from employment.

After employees are selected, the employment of workers itself must be managed to ensure that workers do not dread coming to the office every day. On a very simple, basic level, a happy employee is a productive employee. Training is also very expensive so companies have a vested interest in ensuring that they can retain top employees. Organizations must have an understanding of what makes employees stay and/or why they may be motivated to leave. This can only be determined by studying successful organizations, talking to employees, and framing workplace initiatives in terms of what benefits may be derived from workers, not simply the organization.

Even when it is a buyer's market in terms of selecting employees, organizations should not shirk their recruitment duties. Organizations should wish to hire the best candidates possible and good candidates will quickly leave if they are not satisfied when the market improves. Also, structuring the workplace in a manner which enhances productivity means catering to the needs of workers to grow and develop as people, not simply meet short-term performance goals.

Part 3: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

In a recent EEOC case, EEOC v. Rock-Tenn Services Co., members of a South Dallas mill paid $500,000 in damages to fourteen African-American employees who were subjected to a hostile work environment created by other employees, including racist graffiti and slurs. These included signs of the KKK, "swastikas, Confederate flags, 'white power' and other racist terms, including 'die, n-r, die,' as well as the display of nooses at an employee workstation" ("E-Race," 2012). Although these employees were not acting on behalf of the employer, the EEOC found that the company was effectively turning a blind eye to the harassment. "Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964… The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages" ("Harassment," 2015). In this instance, the harassment was sufficiently onerous that it proved to be almost impossible for employees to do their jobs in an effective manner.

Employers should have a strict policy prohibiting displays of potentially offensive racist images. This policy should be specific, including specifically banning displays of Confederate flags. All employees should be informed of this nondiscriminatory policy as part of the hiring interview, so that acceptable attitudes are clearly communicated early on during the hiring process. A thorough workplace orientation in sensitivity to historically discriminated-against groups is essential. Managers should also regularly monitor the workplace to ensure that workplace violations do not take place and there should be swift disciplinary action against any violators, to ensure that there are consequences for ignoring stated policies. Managers must do more than simply comply with the letter of federal civil rights law; they must set the tone for the rest of the organization.

Part 4: Developing Business Opportunities

Ideally, finding a partner means finding someone that has a similar, complementary worldview in regards to the proposed organization. My first source of candidates would be people I knew from previous employment or schooling whose talents and qualifications complemented mine yet who did not have exactly the same skill set as myself. The candidate's personality should also be such that we worked well together and would contribute in a positive way to the organizational culture we are trying to build. I would not simply select my friends but I would select someone who is compatible with me in a professional level. Access to capital and industry connections would be an obvious bonus. Of course, there is the downside of losing a friendship if the venture does not work out.

One of the reasons that finding the right person is so important is the challenges which can arise if the partner does not work out. For example, if he or she was instrumental in raising capital, investors might not be as interested in the new project with a single individual at the helm. There are legal ramifications about co-signing for loans and opening up the business with two names equally involved in the business. To undercut this risk and the dangers of having to do costly legal work or buy the other person out, the best option for a business is often to create an LLC (limited liability corporation) so the future of the organization is not directly tied to the two owners. "A limited liability company is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership" ("LLC," 2015). While the LLC is taxed like a single or joint proprietorship through its members, it is relatively easy to simply allow one of the members to step aside, given that the name and status of the LLC is not legally synonymous with its owners or founders.

Part 5: Entrepreneurship stages

The five stages of entrepreneurship involve developing the idea for the organization; creating a business plan; actually forming the business; growing the business; and eventual incorporation or dissolution of the business (Silver 2015). The most critical component of the process is the development of the business plan. Without a good business plan, it is impossible to grow the business in a financially sustainable way or to have a clear sense of the future customer base. "A business plan is not just required to secure funding at the start-up phase, but is a vital aid to help you manage your business more effectively. By committing your thoughts to paper, you can understand your business better and also chart specific courses of action that need to be taken to improve your business" (Gleeson 2015). No matter how good the idea for the business or even how popular the product, the business must have a strategy of how to balance costs with incoming profits and know how to market itself and select investment opportunities. During the first year of a business' operations, investments in its infrastructure are particularly critical. Having a plan ensures the organization is able to engage in proper resource allocation.

At times the business may need to rethink its strategy or even its value proposition but it must always have a plan and a sense of direction. The greatest idea in the world cannot be executed without a sound grounding in reality and success will only be temporary if a business not have a good idea of what type of value it is offering its customers. In some rare instances a business may have a good idea and some early success and only generate a formal plan after it has begun to grow but the plan must occur during the organizations' nascent stages to be truly effective.

Part 8: Marketing

An effective marketing analysis shows an understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of the product. One of the most useful tools to use to analyze the prospective market for a product is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. As well as understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the product, this helps give a picture of competitors and how they measure up to the value proposition offered by the organization. "What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you uncover opportunities that you are well-placed to exploit. And by understanding the weaknesses of your business, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise catch you unawares" (Manktelow 2015).

In general, there are four basic marketing strategies open to a company. A company can offer a low-price, general marketing strategy, thus primarily competing on price. A good example of this are big box stores like Wal-Mart. Companies using high-price general marketing strategies seek to attract a large market but offer luxury goods in terms of product positioning (these would include high-end department stores like Barney's or expensive, luxury hotels and restaurants). Companies using low-price niche marketing strategies focus on a narrow market but still stress the value proposition offered to the customer. Examples of these products would include online stores such as the discounted Running Warehouse, which offers shoes at a bargain primarily to serious runners. Companies using high-price niche marketing strategies would include online travel companies like Equitours which specifically cater to individuals who horseback ride looking for luxury vacations.

There are potential positives and negatives for both types of low and high-price marketing strategies. One of the dangers of marketing primarily upon price is that it is very easy to be undercut by competitors, including those taking an initial loss to attract a wider market. Also, stores such as Wal-Mart that profit primarily from high volume sales make it difficult for smaller, new entrants to compete upon price. However, selling at a high price point means that the product must offer additional value to the customer, whether it is quality or simply the perception of high status (a popular fashion label might quickly lose its cache if it is seen as being from last season's trends). Changes in the economy or technology or simply in fashion can potential threaten the future of companies that use this type of marketing strategy.

Part 9: Business plans

The type of business that would interest me the most would be that of a virtually-based organization. "Scalable startups are what Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and their venture investors aspire to build. Google, Skype, Facebook and Twitter are just the latest examples" (Blank 2015). I would be interested in creating a social network for a more specific niche market, such as one designed specifically for artists to crowdsource ideas for fundraising and promotion and to engage in networking. Startup businesses traditionally deploy 'lean' business plans which offer relatively bare-bones financial information, given that they are beginning with a skeletal staff, low-cost technology, and making use of the knowledge and free time of the committed founds. The startup plan includes "projected startup costs, startup steps, and milestones. Startup costs include expenses incurred before launch, such as legal expenses, logo and graphics, websites, signage, and fixing up the office or store; plus assets required, such as starting inventory, vehicles, equipment, office furniture, and -- the hardest to estimate and most important -- starting money in the bank" (Berry 2015).

However, I would also be interested in being hired by an existing organization to help grow a new product or service. For example, Whole Foods has recently pioneered the creation of a new line of supermarkets specifically geared at young people with a low-cost focus (Wahba 2015). This is an example of a marketing strategy geared at opening up new marketing channels to attract to an organization that might otherwise find the chain too high-priced. Young people are interested in eating healthfully and a marketing plan would need to focus on communicating Whole Foods' new focus on cost-conscious ways to bring healthy living to millennials on a budget. The marketing plan would also have to undercut Whole Foods' somewhat 'precious' image as overly concerned with boutique niche foods and instead take a more fun approach.