case
Deliverable 2: Forecasting, Hiring, Selection, Training
As our organization grows, we will rely heavily on all employees, however we will be focusing on two positions that will continuously be necessary for the success of our company. The non-exempt position we have chosen is the technician role. As our business grows, we will need to increase the amount of technicians employed based off of our expected increase in demand. These technicians will be paid hourly and earn 1.5 times their regular salary in the case that they exceed 40 hours of work. We are not requiring technicians to have any specific experience in the field, however it would be preferred if the employees hired have been exposed to the industry and show interest in expansion of knowledge in the technology segment of the business.
The exempt position that we chose to focus on for our company is the marketing manager. As our company expands, we will constantly need to evolve and increase our marketing efforts, making this position crucial to the continued success for DynaTech as well as increase in company awareness. As a manager, this position will require the use of the employee's own discretion and judgement as they will be paid based on a salary rather than an hourly wage. Listed below are the various requirements desired for each of these employees.
Technician:
Desired Skills:
Flexible schedule
Adapt easily to changing market
Excellent communication skills
Personable with customers
Education:
High school education is not required, but preferred
Experience Requirements:
Minimum 3 months of work experience with technology
Basic computer knowledge
Preferred Qualities:
High school diploma or equivalent
Associate degree
1 or more years of customer service experience
1 or more years of experience in the technology industry
Marketing Manager
Desired Skills:
Strong oral and written communication skills
Ability to multi-task
Proactive management capabilities
Excellent organizational skills
Creative mindset
Education:
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
Experience Requirements:
2 or more years of experience in business, preferably marketing
Knowledgeable about various marketing softwares
Preferred Qualities:
MBA with business experience
4 or more years of experience in business, preferably marketing
Project management experience
Experience with marketing softwares and tools (i.e. Photoshop, Adobe, PowerPoint)
Multilingual
Hiring Forecast
As DynaTech expects overall growth within the company across all levels over time, it will become increasingly important to pay attention to certain labor hiring trends across job positions. As we grow we will have to consider both industry and job specific hiring trends when determining how to recruit and staff for several different positions. Looking at employment trends within the electronics and computer repair services industry, employment has steadily been decreasing every year dating back to 2007 (IBISWorld). The reason for this being highly linked to a growing trend of multi-purpose devices, reducing the amount of overall products that need to be serviced. Being aware of this downward sloping trend will be useful to the firm in creating accurate hiring projections moving forward. It is our understanding that this decrease in hiring is likely due to decreased demand, not necessarily a decrease in supply, though we will touch on that in more detail for our technician positions. It is important to note that the unemployment rate in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the location of our first store, has historically been lower than the state average in years past (Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted)).
Technician:
Compared to the overall industry trends, jobs for technicians are projected to grow at an above average rate. Employment of these individual is estimated to have grown 12% by 2024 compared to what they were in 2014(Computer Support Specialists). Across the world, this growth can be highly attributed to a rise in cloud-based computing and the development of more advanced IT systems. As we are a purely business-to-consumer based company, and given our clientele, it is unlikely that our technicians will ever have to work on projects that advanced. Technicians we hire do not have many barriers to entry, with minimal formal education requirements and focusing more in on technical skillsets. With these low barriers to job entry we have set, as well as the growing employment rate among these individuals, we do not anticipate any problems hiring for the projections we have set.
As mentioned before the industry growth trends seem to show a problem of reduced hires over time within our specific industry (IBISWorld). While we would much rather see an increase in hiring, as a growing startup we believe we can use this to our advantage. Given reduced hiring among other firms, as well as a growing pool of possible hires, DynaTech is given a unique opportunity to pick from a variety of highly qualified candidates for positions such as these. A growing generation of technologically-savvy young-adults also gives us promise for a more knowledgeable talent pool as we develop over time, as they will be able to more easily pick up on new trends.
Marketing Manager:
As outlined in previous documents, marketing and advertising were some of the things we intended on ramping up as our business grew in size. Our method of accomplishing this was by dividing and then increasing the number of positions available in our sales and marketing departments, as initially they were under one jurisdiction. As a result of the increased hiring within the marketing department, we must project any and all conditions for hiring professional staff to lead this team. As stated before, we are somewhat pushed into a disadvantage as our industry shows a decline in hiring across companies (IBISWorld). Along with that, compared to our technician position, there is a higher degree of required education for those applying for marketing manager positions. That being said, the number of individuals obtaining Bachelor’s degrees is going up over the years. In the 2015 Census, the proportion of individuals 25 years and older with a Bachelor’s degree was approximately 32.5% of the overall population (4.1. Educational Attainment and Outcomes). Just as well, the expected growth of marketing managers is about as fast the average for all job occupations (11-2021 Marketing Managers). These trends do not paint a very optimistic portrait for our organization if we intend to hire several marketing managers, but there are certain things to keep in mind. The state we intend to penetrate and grow in, Florida, is listed as one of the higher employers of marketing managers, although it does not rank in the top five (11-2021 Marketing Managers).This statistic, coupled with Fort Lauderdale’s low unemployment rate and DynaTech’s modest hiring expectations, will be able to mitigate some of the trends going on in the job marketplace currently.
Sourcing Plan
Dyna Tech Company is looking for technicians who have qualities to fit into company personnel. They should have computer skills, technical ability, communication skills and have attained a degree. The person should have a working experience of not less than one year in addition he or she should be flexible, friendly and hardworking. The marketing managers should have a degree in business, have analytical and critical thinking skills, have a working experience of at least three years and he or she should be able to communicate effectively, have computer and technical literacy also.
The company will use recruiting firms in search of interested employees. Through the websites, the interested candidates will upload their resumes which the company will browse and select qualified candidates for the interview. In the period of advertising the two positions, the company expect a yield of about eighty candidates to upload their resumes, but 20 candidates will be shortlisted for interviews in marketing manager position, one candidate will however be selected and employed on permanent basis. The position of technicians is projected to have sixteen candidates who will upload their resumes, out of this, eight candidates will be shortlisted, and two of them will get employed on permanent and two more on contracts. The four technicians will work together to ensure all the company systems are working and maintained in good conditions. This will maximise the company profit and ensure the company is able to keep all its employees.
During the selection process the company will gather employees who have the required knowledge for the specific jobs they applied to. Technicians will need to have a basic understanding of how technology works and be able to work well with others. Marketing managers should be able to think critically to help the company grow. The members of the human resource department will conduct the interview activities. Tradition type of interview will be used to interview the candidates selected, the interviewer will be required to answer questions which are designed to help figure out the great candidates for the company.
Some of the interview questions the interviewers will use include, describe your experience? How do you understand about our company mission and vision? How can you describe yourself? What are some of your hobbies, and can they have an influence in your working? What do you know about this position? In additions to the above questions, the candidate seeking for marketing positions will be questioned the following question. Why do you love marketing? What do you read, and how do you consume information? How do you structure marketing budget? Who do you think is our biggest competitor? Have you ever faced a conflict of interest on team project? The technicians will also answer the following questions. Describe your experience? How familiar are you with computer? What steps do you take to solve unfamiliar problems? What experience do you have on website? What are some of your technical skills do you have? The panel will also test all the candidates to ensure technicians have required computer skill and marketing managers have adequate knowledge to run the company.
Selection Process
Non-exempt: Technician
1.Screening Applications and Resumes
Employees within the Human Resources department of the organization will review received applications and resumes to determine eligible candidates for the position of a computer technician in an attempt to reduce the number of qualified candidates for the position. Qualified candidates will be determined based off their education, previous work experience, and technology-based skills. Once the applications and resumes have been viewed at length, employees within the Human Resources department will reach out to eligible candidates via phone call to schedule a face-to-face interviews as well as a technology achievement test.
2. Testing
As part of the interview process, we have determined it necessary that a technology achievement test is a crucial part of the hiring process for the technician position. An in depth testing of one’s existing computer knowledge and skills is extremely important to determine qualified candidates for the position and eliminate unqualified candidates based off their scores. In addition to an achievement test, a drug test will be administered to all employees within our organization. We find a drug test necessary to ensure that all our employees are capable of performing their job without the influence of drugs and to ensure their habits do not interfere with their work. The drug testing process will follow all guidelines and reports of the results will be sent back to all applicants with information on how to appeal the results or a re-testing if necessary.
3. Interview
For the position of a technician within our organization, we view the technology achievement test as the most important part of the interview process but we will also conduct a structured interview for each qualified candidate. A technical manager will conduct a structured interview to achieve results that are valid and reliable. The type of structured interview will be situational, in which the technical manager will describe a situation that will likely occur on the job and the candidates’ answers will be recorded to predict job performance. Additionally, at the beginning of the interview the technical manager will explain the job specifications as well as information about our organization’s culture. The five questions that the technical manager will ask, in addition to the five questions all candidates will be asked, are:
1.How do you repair a crashed computer hard drive?
2.What would you do if you could not or did not know how to fix the technical issue?
3.What computer systems are you familiar with?
4.Do you have more experience with Apple computers or Dell computers?
5.A customer is upset and very frustrated with their technology. How would you respond to the customer?
4. Reference and Background Checks
After a candidate has proven himself or herself a finalist for the technician position, employees within the Human Resources department will conduct a reference check as well as a background check to ensure that all vital information regarding the candidate has been received. A reference check will be conducted to gain knowledge on any significant problems the candidate has posed in the past, or to gain more knowledge about any significant achievements the candidate has been a part of. The Human Resources member will speak to the reference directly by phone to achieve all possible validity. In addition to checking references, a criminal background check will be conducted to determine if the candidate has been convicted of any crimes.
5. Make Selection
To make a decision about who to hire, our company will use the multiple-hurdle model and will arrive at a decision based off the elimination of some candidates at each stage of the selection process. Because it is important to value employee motivation, as well as ability, we will be sure not to hire any candidate who is overqualified for the job specifications as to ensure that they remain motivated by their work. After the supervisors have made a decision by using the multiple-hurdle model, the Human Resources department will notify applicants for the position of the technician about the job offer and inform them about the job details.
Exempt: Marketing Manager
1. Screening Applications and Resumes
Similar to the position of a technician role, employees within the Human Resources department will review received applications and resumes to determine eligible candidates for the position of a marketing manager. Qualified candidates will be determined based off their skills, education, and previous work experience. Once the applications and resumes have been viewed at length, employees within the Human Resources department will reach out to eligible candidates via phone call to schedule a face-to-face interview as well as a series of tests that will be administered to the candidate.
2. Testing
An aptitude test will be given to all eligible candidates to assess how well the person can learn and acquire new skills. In addition to an aptitude test, a cognitive ability test will be administered to all candidates to measure verbal and quantitative skills, as well as cognitive reasoning ability. In addition to the aptitude and cognitive ability tests, a drug test will be given to all candidates to ensure that all our employees are capable of performing their job without the influence of drugs and to ensure their habits do not interfere with their work. Likewise with the technician role, the drug testing process will follow all guidelines and reports of the results will be sent back to all applicants with information on how to appeal the results or a re-testing if necessary.
3. Interview
In contrast to the position of a technician role, the tests administered will not be the most important part of the selection process but rather the face-to-face interview will hold more value in making a final selection. A senior marketing manager will conduct a structured interview for the position of marketing manager which will include a series of questions to measure the candidate’s job knowledge, skills, and to gain knowledge about previous work experiences. The face-to-face interview will allow the senior marketing manager to determine if the candidate is fit for the position, as well as if he or she fits within the organizational culture. The five questions that will be asked, in addition to the five questions that all candidates will be asked, are:
Give us an example of how you effectively and successfully managed a team of people.
Give us an example of how you successfully utilized digital marketing tools.
Tell us about a marketing project at which you failed at.
Tell us about a marketing project at which you succeeded at.
What are some significant challenges marketing managers face today?
4. Reference and Background Checks
After a candidate has proven himself or herself a finalist for the marketing manager position, employees within the Human Resources department will conduct a reference check as well as a background check to ensure that all vital information regarding the candidate has been received. A reference check will be conducted to gain knowledge on any significant problems the candidate has posed in the past, or to gain more knowledge about any significant achievements the candidate has been a part of. The Human Resources member will speak to the reference directly by phone to achieve all possible validity. In addition to checking references, a criminal background check will be conducted to determine if the candidate has been convicted of any crimes.
5. Make Selection
As with the role of a technician, our company will use the multiple-hurdle model to arrive at a decision based off the elimination of some candidates at each stage of the selection process. Likewise with the technician position, we will not hire any candidate who is overqualified for the job to ensure the employee remains motivated by their work. After the VP of marketing as made a decision, the Human Resources department will notify the applicants for the position of a marketing manager about the job offer and inform them of the job details.
5 Questions for All Positions:
1.What distinguishes you from all the other qualified candidates for this position?
2.Why do you want to work for DynaTech?
3.Do you believe you fit in with our work culture?
4.What interests you most about this position?
5.What are the most important skills you’ll bring to our organization?
Orientation Training Plan
During the selection process we will gather employees who have the correct required knowledge for the specific jobs they applied to. Technicians will need to have a basic understanding of how technology works and be able to work well with others. People a little higher up in the organizational structure like senior marketing managers, will need to be able to think critically to help the company grow. Our orientation process will involve a couple different training processes to help our newly staffed employees understand our company’s environment, as well as understand what they need to be able to do to help the company succeed. A few members of the HR Department will conduct this process and organize all of the activities. Our program will be a week long process and will start with adventure learning on the first day. We will go out into nature and let the employees get to know each and complete fun activities to support the meet and greet process. We believe that this will be a fun way to kick off the week and get the employees excited. After letting them meet each other we will bring them into the offices and let them get to know the company’s culture and the day-to-day work that is involved. The next couple of days will include a couple of different training programs that help them get integrated into the company’s values. Diversity training is something that we are going to implement to show them what kind of attitude we accept and what we don’t tolerate. We want to be a very ethical company and support diversity within the company because we know how important it is. We will also implement business games and case studies and break up them up into teams. Teamwork is a key value and working with others to achieve an end goal is something that every company needs. We will give them case studies to help them understand workplace situations and how to correctly deal with them. Business games are something that we think the employees will really enjoy and help them bond, as well as help them think critically. On the last day we will do simulations to see how much knowledge the employees have gained as well as make sure they understand the values of the company. All of these training programs put together in a one week period will help our employees gain very valuable knowledge and create a very unique and helpful transfer of training so that once they start working, they are immediately adding value to the company.
Week Orientation Process
Day one will consist of an all day retreat of adventure learning
Day two will focus on diversity training as well as visiting the company HQ
Day three will consist of breaking up into teams and working on business games
Day four will consist of more business games and case studies
Day five will consist of simulations
References
"4.1. Educational Attainment and Outcomes." Educational Attainment in the United States: 2015 (n.d.): n. pag.Census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"Electronic & Computer Repair Services in the US." IBISWorld. IBISWorld US, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"11-2021 Marketing Managers." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"Computer Support Specialists." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
"Unemployment Rate (Not Seasonally Adjusted)." Google. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2017.
