Discussion Post Week 1

Discussion Post – Week 1

My current organization, ABC University (ABC), generally sources candidates through referrals technique. Department managers create positions based on their department’s needs and rely on their current employees to recommend acquaintances or colleagues to fill the vacancies. While this technique is effective in some ways, the organization should not limit itself to utilizing just this style of recruiting. They should consider practicing the “think outside of the box” to enable them to source candidates via LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, and other professional networking sites.

Another methodology that can be effective for sourcing candidates to work at ABC is reviewing applications that were retained from past job postings. The HRIS database that the organization currently uses is known as Workday. Workday stores all applicant data for quite some time, even if the employee has been moved to “withdrawal status.” While reviewing applications, the department managers should consider the candidates’ experience, as it relates to the job duties of their vacant role and be mindful of examining the candidates’ responses during and after the interview process. This will allow them to gauge if the candidates will align with the organization’s culture.

After the managers have identified their candidate, they collaborate with Human Resources, so that HR can on-board the candidate. The on-boarding process consists of sending an electronic offer letter to the candidate, generating the candidate’s background screening, developing an employee profile in Workday (should the candidate pass the background screening), emailing the employee a welcome email that includes their on-boarding details (i.e. scheduling new hire orientation and completing on-boarding tasks via Workday), and collaborating with the Information Technology team to ensure the candidate obtains system access.

These methodologies have been utilized since the start of ABC University’s HR team seven years ago. They reflect that the organizational culture limits itself when it comes to sourcing the right candidates. Rather than department managers educating themselves in respect to other ways to source candidates, they have decided they are content with the hiring methodologies currently being implemented. They behave as if they are afraid to change the process. What this is doing for the organization is making it difficult for them to develop a competitive advantage. The turnover rate has risen to 75% and some department managers are struggling to fill positions. ABC should consider sourcing candidates with the right attitude for the job.

According to Clearfit (2012), employees with the right attitude are valuable for a business (Clearfit, 2012). Candidates with the right attitude are typically ambitious and are willing to bring innovative ideas to a company.