Recruitment Analysis

Date Written: July 8th, 2015

Written for: GCU - HRM 635

Recruitment of a Star: Effectively Replacing a Key Player in Your Company

            A company is only as strong as their team and losing an employee who not only covers the team in a necessary position, but also occupies a position that is singular in number could cause an upset to the strength of the company.  In the case of Stephen Connor as director of research at Rubin, Stern, and Hertz (RSH), the choice comes down to replacing his company’s key player with a junior, a rising star, or an established star.  While the hiring needs to occur as quickly as possible, there are a number of key factors that Stephen needs to consider in order to find the right fit for RSH’s semiconductor analyst position. 

The Candidates

            After speaking with a trusted recruiter, Craig Robertson, trusted employees, Tom Walters, Beth Tuck, and John Davidson, and unexpectedly, recruiter, Anita Armstrong, Connor narrowed down the interview list to 5 potential players. These players are all strong in their own rights, but leave a bit of room for further consideration.  Out of the five possibilities, two are seasoned stars, two are up and comers, and the final candidate is a wildcard, yet company seasoned junior analyst.

            The two seasoned stars are David Hughes and Gerald Baum.  When referencing Hughes as seasoned, it is important to note that he is older in a business where employees typically burn out by their forties and fifties.  Upon interviewing Baum, Connor discovered that he was a highly negative person.  Considering his instincts, Connor notes, “if a prospective employee expresses too much negativity about his current workplace, it usually indicates that he’s a negative person who’s likely to find his new company distasteful, too” (Groysberg, Balog, & Haimson, 2007, p. 10).  Also, it is worthy to note that Baum’s inability to apologize for tardiness coupled with the negativity establishes him as a person who may be more self involved than a team player, which is the standard at RSH.  While his background and client loyalty would be essential, his cutthroat attitude and inattentiveness to teamwork set him as less of a fit for RSH.  On the other hand, as a highly season employee, David Hughes showed that he knew what he wanted and how he wanted things to run.  His drive also seemed less aggressive as he preferred time with family over a major deal.  This might fit in with the team mentality of RSH or in turn it could take away as it might come across that Hughes prefers selfish ventures over company strengths.

            The two up and comers, Sonia Meetha and Seth Horkum showed a bit more promise than the seasoned stars.  Meetha appears to be a strong, self-motivated rising star with great prospects. She appears a bit less mature than the other two, but she holds promise for fitting in with RSH.  She also doesn’t seem to know everything she has to offer.  Horkum is an opposite, extremely professional and well-prepared, he knows what he has to offer, which also comes off a bit overzealous.  His downfall is that he might become a bit too overzealous in his pursuit of a position that he thinks suits him. 

            The final candidate is Rina Shea.  She is a complete wildcard, but she was the Junior to the incumbent and knows RSH better than all the other candidates.  Connor seems to discount her as a candidate in the light of the other possibilities, which is understandable noting the strengths of the others. She has promise, but she does seem to be on a different level than the other possibilities.

The Hiring Considerations

            Based on the job Peter did, the strength of the candidate needs to already be in place.  The new analyst would need to be able to jump in feet first and know PowerChip as quickly as possible.  Connor must take this into consideration when hiring the best candidate for the job.   As previously stated, each candidate left some stone unturned during their interviews and with this in mind, Connor must keep in mind how far their strengths outweigh their weaknesses.  Can he forgive Baum’s negativity and tardiness?  Is Hughes laissez-faire attitude stronger than his credentials?  Is Sonia Meetha worth the risks and possible immaturity factor?  Is Seth Horkum just a flash in the pan or does he have the potential to keep rising at this new company?  Is Rina Shea truly worth the risk and can she handle the huge, premature jump from junior to senior?

            Comparatively, Rina seems like a strong candidate as she’s already in the position and has worked with RSH for some time.  However, the entry and socialization process could solve this issue.  As a team environment and based on how the second round of interviews was handled, the ability to socialize these new candidates into the company would be easy.  Allowing them to work hand in hand with the group would give them strength and based on how the candidates themselves handled the second interviews, one in particular stands out as the most viable candidate for the position.  This candidate could handle entry and socialization as well as the job in a way that would cost the company little in the way of time. 

            The research and process used by Connor was through and lent itself to a strong candidate pool with a very thorough background understanding of each candidate.  In my opinion, the process used by Connor was very well planned considering the amount of time he had in which to find a feasible candidate for the position.  

The Decision

            Based on all facts presented, my choice for the position is Seth Horkum.  He presents himself as a strong, key player and could fill the role in a positive way.   Assimilating him in to the culture of the company and taking on the job with PowerChip would be easy comparatively.  The biggest concern with him is that he’d take his rising star power and run with it after only being with the company for a small period of time.  This could be mitigated through the use of bonuses and competitive compensation. Also, his overzealousness might prove useful with the quick turnaround.

Final Overview

            In this case study, Stephen Connor was put in a tough position, but his ability to sift through candidates and confirm their strengths and weaknesses through investigation allowed him to find a candidate worthy of the position.  He also has budding stars to keep an eye out for, including Rina, who proves to be a strong candidate for potential senior positions in the future. 

 

                                                                       References

Groysberg, B., Balog, S., & Haimson, J. (2007). Recruitment of a Star. Harvard Business School.