Cherns Case Study

Transition Analysis

The Plan

The External Labor Market

• Must attract 1,580 applicants for full-time sales associate position

• 25% or 395 will become candidates

• 20% or 79 candidates will receive offers

• 75% or 59 will accept offers received

According to O*Net.com:

The two candidates that should receive an offer

Candidate # 1: Sharon Simmons & Candidate #2: Maria Cruz

Net Return on Staffing Investment

Sharon:

• Has over 5 years of experience in customer relationships, growth of clientele, management, and inventory controls. She is looking for long term growth opportunities.
• Had a high GPA when graduating with her B.A. in Communications from New York University.
• Her resume shows that she has worked with some credible retail organizations.
• She has worked her way up from sales associate to assistant manager in her career path.

Job success score:

Sharon score: 9 financial return: $40,000 (first year)

Maria score: 8 financial return: $30,000 (first year)

Total: $70,000

$70,000-$20,000- $14,800=

recruitment & applicant screening

interview cost

Maria:

• Looking to obtain a career in retail management and apply her fashion marketing background.
• She has had 3-4 years of retail experience.
• She is involved in the community, seems to be self motivated, and the tasks she has taken on over time throughout her career show she should be quick learner.

Total: $35,200

Both:

• Scored at the top of the group for the structured interviews

Other considered candidates:

Chris Prender &Parathi Naryan

Choosing and Hiring Candidates at Chern's

Recommendations

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Employment Rate for Retail Salesperson - 4,485,180
• No gap forecasted

Currently at Chern's

(Assessing Internal Candidates)

• Combining the multiple hurdle approach and the compensatory approach would be best for choosing and hiring candidates at Chern’s.

• Some job requirements are essential to performing a job, but others can be compensated for.

• Example 1: When filling a management position, a certain level of experience could compensate for a certain educational degree.

• Example 2: When filling a management position (especially from within), performing well at your current position would be a hurdle in order to move to a management position.

• Continually and systematically improve the capabilities of all identified succession candidates.

• Build off of their current program.

• Succession management should be thought of as a continuous process, not something that is only done once or twice a year.

• Use assessment of candidate’s competencies to figure out training programs and development opportunities. This will increase the candidate’s readiness for key positions.

• Give candidates information about the areas they are interested in.

• Allow candidates to be active partners when systematically building the competencies they need to move into a management position.

• An example being, some companies enable employees to access their own profiles to ensure information is correct and so they can see where they are at.

• Check in with candidates confidentially and give them feedback so they know where they stand.

• Overall, Employees need to be able to see a future within the company; this can be done through communication efforts.

- Chern’s talent philosophy is to promote from within and to improve its internal promotion practices.

- After a recent analysis of turnover, Chern’s found that potentially good candidates for department manager and assistant department manager positions had left the organization.

-After exit interviews, Chern’s found that these potential candidates were leaving because their efforts to communicate promotional opportunities and succession planning intentions had been insufficient.

-Many of the potential candidates were leaving because of poor career planning visibility.

The Internet as a Source

• Resume would be fairly weighted; parts of interview could elaborate on resume.

• Interview/interview score results would be heavily weighted.

• In terms of the job requirement matrix, in general: customer service skills would be weighted around 75% because it is a main focus of the company, technology usage would be around 15% and administrative tasks experience would be around 10%.

• The company has good orientation training, allowing for the compensatory approach to come into play.

Recruiting Sources

• LinkedIn.com

o Can access information about people they know as well as people their contacts know

o Great form of Social Networking and creates brand awareness

• Internet Job Boards

o Help employers source promising recruits by reviewing resumes that potential applicants have posted

o Monster.com, Simplyhired.com

o Employers can post open positions for applicants to upload resumes

Boolean Search

• Search Engine: Yahoo
• Command Used: site:linkedin.com ("retail sales associate" or "retail salesperson" ) Georgia

1) David Fields

• Norcross, Georgia
• Working at NCR Corporation
• Specialties: communication, customer service
• Has multiple years of experience in retail sales
• Was given multiple recommendations for superior customer service

2) Kimberly Knox

• Douglasville, Georgia
• Working at Gold's Gym
• Head Customer Service Representative
• Multiple years of prior experience as retail sales associate
• Has degree from Branell Insitute

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Amber Allen

Diversity of Applicant Pool

Chapter 6

Chapter 5

Nine elements Strategy

A core workforce will be beneficial. The flexible option is good for temporary work, leased, part time or contract workers.

Chap.2

Nine Elements cont.

Internal hires bring experience and training so it is a preferable method. Promoting from within also keeps turn over down.

Management position need high levels of customer service experience. The company basis there philosophy on customer satisfaction.

Staffing proactively will allow more time to decide what is needed to complete the open positions.

Customer service jobs should be focused on. It is the philosophy and back bone of the company.

Staffing is an investment because the employees have a high value and the company looks to promote from within and keep turn over down.

The centralized approach is preferable.

Hiring experienced candidates will cut training cost. Training new candidates may be beneficial because it adds new energy

Sourcing: Identifying Recruits

We want to retain our Talent. Retaining talent can be cost effective due to less training. It also creates a more productive work environment.

Forecasting & Planning

Business & staffing strategies

• Hire from multiple sources

o Using new sources such as LinkedIn.com and Monster.com will help draw potential applicants from a more diverse group.

o Job Fairs could potentially be a way to increase diversity

 Attract a different group of applicants

• Low cost

• Can target certain geographic locations

o Use a staffing company that focuses on finding top talent diverse candidates

o Update website to express more emphasis on wanting to create a more diverse environment

Assessing Internal Candidates

Long - term & Short term Outcome Goals

Choosing and Hiring Candidates

• Short -term
• Develop a job description that provides a detailed analysis of each skill necessary to complete the job.
• Effectively Establish incentives for drawing talent
• Develop training that provides employees with the necessary competencies to stay employed by the company and further there productivity.
• Long - term
• Create a statistical chart able to calculate efficiency by each employee based on the provided training and personal skills of the employee
• Provide updated training sessions based on each employees progression based on a 6 month scale
• Outcome
• Ryan and Ann pride there business on exceptional customer service. A family environment for its employees and the desire to help progress the people employed. The extensive training and 6 month evaluations will provide experience, high competence in their position and productivity

Chap. 1

Utilizing the nine elements of staffing strategy.

• Do we want a core or flexible workforce?
• Do we prefer to hire internally or externally?
• Do we want to hire for or train and develop needed skills ?
• Do we want to replace or retain our talent ?
• What levels of which skills do we need where?
• Will we staff proactively or re actively?
• Which jobs should we focus on ?
• Is staffing treated as an investment or a cost ?
• Will staffing be centralized or decentralized ?

Strategic Staffing

Onboarding and Socialization Strategies

One time versus staggered programs- Programs that put newcomers through one long session versus many smaller ones.

Recommendations

Downsizing Strategies

Retention Strategy Recommendations

Collective versus individual programs- programs that put newcomers through a common set of experiences as a group versus socializing them one-on-one.

Serial Socialization Strategies

Goal: Reduce the number of sales associates by 15%

Issues for top performers: Lack of promotional opportunity, work hours were fixed and la of training & development opportunities

Formal versus informal programs- programs providing structured socialization using specifically designed formal activities and materials away from the work setting versus informal socialization done by a new hire's coworkers on the job.

Investiture Socialization Programs

Performance-based Downsizing

Possible Strategies:

Sequential versus random programs- programs that require recruits to pass through a series of distinct steps to obtain full employee status versus using a random sequence of activities.

Collective Socialization Programs

Position-based Downsizing

Chap. 7

Clarifying Promotional Paths

Chern's Case Study

Layoffs

Flextime

Fixed versus variable programs- programs providing newcomers with a fixed timetable associated with completing each stage in the transition from one role to another versus providing no consistent timetable and few cues as to when to expect the next stage.

Providing Employees with Support

Chern's Brand

Recruiting

Holding Managers Accountable

Well Developed Mobility Policies

Serial versus disjunctive programs- programs using experienced organizational members as role models or mentors who groom newcomers to follow in their footsteps versus providing no role models or mentors.

Chap. 12

Recruiting Guide

Hiring process when hiring internal candidates and external candidates

Developing Policies and Procedures

• Budget
• Activities
• Timelines
• Staff members responsible for recruiting
• Legal issues
• Steps to fill the position

Investiture versus divestiture programs- programs that take advantage of a new hire's unique skills versus trying to deny or strip away personal characteristics through socialization.

Reducing Spillover Effect

Spillover Effect – Indirect or unintended consequences of an action

Recommendations

• Treat applicant with respect
• Respond quickly to applicants
• Help candidates feel excited about the opportunity
• Personal e-mail to applicants during the process
• Explain reason for rejection
• Encourage talented candidates to reapply
• Use social media and text messaging
• Technology – HireVue and Wowzer

Fairness Perception

Distributive fairness – Fairness of the hiring or promotion outcome

Procedural fairness – Policies and procedures for hiring or promotion decision was fair

Interactional fairness – Interpersonal treatment and amount of information received during hiring process

Tournament versus contest programs- programs treating each socialization stage as an "elimination tournament" where failure means that a new hire is out of the organization (fired) versus a "contest" in which new hires build up a track record and "batting average" over time

Josh Daley

Managing Workforce Flow

Topic/Staffing & Selection

Chap. 13

Chern's Goals

Josh Daley

Recommended Staffing Technologies

Digital Staffing Dashboard

Key Performance Indicators

Recommendations Continued

Applicant Tracking Systems

Staffing System Evaluation & Technology

Human Resources Information Systems

(HRIS)

Chapter 9

Assessing External Candidates

1.) Recruiting

2.) Applicant Quality

3.) Job Success

4.) Return On Investment

5.) Turnover Rates/Retention Rates

What Should the Brand be?

1.) Attracting a more diverse set of qualified applicants.

2.) Complying with equal employment opportunity and affirmative action guidelines.

3.) Hiring sales associates who:

-a.) Are better able to execute its business strategy.

-b.) Sell more merchandise.

-c.) Develop higher quality relationships with the firm's customers.

-d.) Stay with the company longer.

-e.) Are more promotable to department manager positions.

-f.) Reinforce the company's customer service oriented culture and make every employee and customer feel valued and cared for.

4.) Realizing a meaningful positive return on its investment in your recommendations.

• Department
• Job Title
• Job Grade
• Salary
• Salary history
• Position history
• Supervisor
• Training completed
• Special qualifications
• Ethnicity
• Date of Birth
• Disabilities
• Veteran status
• Visa status
• Benefits selected

CHERN

• Scan résumés
• Generate mailing labels and letters that can be sent to accepted and rejected applicants
• Generate EEO reports
• Schedule and track interviews
• Store the firm's job descriptions
• Generate staffing statistics by activity, recruiter, and recruiting sources
• Generate a job requisition analysis
• Generate a staffing cost analysis
• Create applicant profiles
• Allow managers' notes regarding different candidates and the staffing process to be stored online

CHERN

• Chern is known for: superior customer service, high-quality, expensive products, good selection, and core values
• Brand should convey why someone would want to work for Chern's Department Store
• Employees want to work for a company that has a favorable image
• Brand needs to build a sense of pride in your employees
• Employees act as your ambassador of your brand

Structured Interview Questions

A disgruntled customer is returning a damaged suit jacket he bought the previous week that he needed for an event that night. He is extremely upset. What do you do?

• 5 – Excellent response
• 3- Marginal response
• 1 – Poor response

Work Cited

Gully, Stanley M., Phillips, Jean M. (2015). Strategic staffing, (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ. Pearson Education, Inc.

Structured Interview Questions

Chern's Brand

A person walks into your store and mentions that she has just moved into the area and that this is the first time she has visited your store. What would you do to make her a customer now and a loyal customer in the future?

• 5 – Excellent response:
• 3- Marginal response:
• 1 – Poor response:

Chap. 4

How to market and reinforce the brand during the staffing process

Recruiters and manager should have the same message

• How is Chern different?
• What is Chern’s vision?
• What is Chern’s competitive advantage?
• Why should an elite sales associate work for Chern?
• What are Chern’s benefits?

Compensation

• Base pay 20% above market
• 401(k) plan matched by Chern at 10%
• Potential earnings of 150% of base pay in bonuses

Noncompensation

• Training and development
• Upward mobility – 75%
• Technology
• Low turnover rate

Chap. 3

Strategic Job Analysis & Competency Modeling

The Legal Context

Structured Interview Questions

Recommendations

You’re working alone because two people called in sick. Suddenly, five customers walk into your store at once. What do you do?

• 5 – Excellent response:
• 3- Marginal response:
• 1 – Poor response:

• Generate favorable publicity –news stories
• Sponsor a scholarship
• Target recruiting at college fairs
• Newspaper ads that reflect the jobs as interesting and challenging
• TV commercials - demonstrates the facilities, employees, customers, products
• Social media - Career Website, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, on-line application asking which Chern store is their favorite and why it is their favorite
• Fortune magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list

Strategic Job Analysis

Disparate Impact Analysis

Sales Associate

Definition:

Three Main Aspects :

Disparate Impact - When an action has a disproportionate effect on a protected group, regardless

of the employer’s intent

Analyzed with the use of:

• Job Duties - Primary functions of a job. For analytic purposes, the relative importance of the duty as well as the relative time spent on each is important to capture.
• Tasks - An observable unit of work with a beginning and an end.
• KSAOs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and "Other") - Job related worker characteristics that help to identify the job candidates likely to be most successful on the job.

- Stock Statistics

- Flow Statistics

- Concentration Statistics

Statistical Definitions

Job Duties

Stock Statistics:

Chern's Case Study

Compares the percentage of men, women, or minorities employed in a job category with their availability in the relevant population of qualified people interested in the position.

Flow Statistics:

Job Duties

Customer Service:

- Chern's main business strategy

- Develop clientele

- Significant training dedicated

Technology Usage:

- Perpetual Inventory System

- Capture customers preferences

- Check performance against quotas

Administrative Duties:

- Clerical work associated with a sales position (e.g. filing invoices, answering phones, etc.).

Statistics that compare the percentage of applicants hired from different subgroups to determine if they are significantly different from each other.

Concentration Statistics:

Statistics that compare the percentages of men, women, or minorities in various job categories to see if men, women, or minorities are concentrated in certain workforce categories.

Tasks

Stock Statistics

Customer Service:

- Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.

- Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.

- Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.

- Build rapport / relationships with customers.

Findings:

- Hiring Rate: (Current Sales Assoc/Relevant Pop.) - 1

-Females, White employees, and Black employees are currently underutilized compared to their availability in the relevant population.

Recommendations:

- Prove there is a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification that requires males to be hired at a higher level than females.

- Consider an Affirmative Action Plan to rectify the lower hiring rate of White and Black employees.

Tasks Cont.

Flow Statistics

Technology Usage:

- Leverge Perpetual Inventory System by regularly contributing customer data.

- Maintain records related to sales.

- Compute sales prices, total purchases and receive and process cash or credit payment.

Administrative:

- Prepare sales slips or sales contracts.

- Place special orders for customers.

- Answer phones and call other stores / vendors as needed.

Findings:

- 4/5 Rule: Compare all selection rates to highest selection rate X 80%. If below, could be discriminatory.

- Men, Black employees, and Hispanic employees fall short of 4/5 Rule.

Recommendations:

KSAOs

- Prove there is a BFOQ that requires women to have a higher selection rate than men.

- Review targeted recruitment methodology. Make sure Chern's is targeting its employees based on attributes it wants to see in its recruits (i.e. great customer service, entrepreneurial spirit, drive for success, and a desire for money).

Customer Service:

Concentration Statistics

- Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

- Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

- Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

- Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Findings:

- Strong evidence of discrimination for females in management positions.

- Although you are 1.2 times as likely to be female and a sales associate, you are 2.3 times as likely to be a male department manager, and 1.5 times as likely to be a male store manager.

- White: Fairly even distribution across positions 20%-24%. No strong data there is under or over utilization of white employees in these positions.

- Black: Black employees are statistically under represented as department managers and over represented as store managers. Despite being under represented as department managers, it is hard to argue discrimination as they make up the largest percentage of store managers.

- Asian: Asian employees are highly represented both as sales associates and department managers. They are under represented as store managers, suggesting they have a more difficult time being promoted to that level than other protected classes.

- Hispanic: Similar to Asian employees, they are well represented at the sales associate and department manager levels, but under represented as store managers.

KSAOs Cont.

Technology Usage:

- Written Expression - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

- Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

- Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Concentration Statistics Cont.

Recommendations:

Administrative:

- Compare hiring rates of females into management positions with promotional rates of females into management positions to determine if the bias is predominately internal or external.

- Augment hiring practices to get a more balanced gender representation in the work force.

- Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

- Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

- Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Job Requirements Matrix