The Hiring Process and Managing a Diverse Workforce - Case Study Example

The Hiring Process and Managing a Diverse Workforce Table of Contents Introduction 3 Three recruitment methods 3 2. Application process of the Puma 5 3. Procedure used by HR Department of Puma in maintaining applicants records 5 4. Three different methods background checks of Puma 7 5. Selection of three different employment tests 7 6. Major challenges of using subjective criteria for assessing soft skills. 8 7. Accommodations for disabled applicants and applicants needing special religious considerations 9 8. Affirmative action violation and managing harassment issues 10 9. Work-life conflicts 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction According to Booth, Robson & Welham (2004), internationalisation is leading the firms to meet the challenge of diversity. Mainly, international firms are operating through different international set up and facing issues as employees are having diverse culture and background. Human resource managers and departments of international firms are required to develop proper strategies for developing effective employment opportunity and increase workplace efficiency. Firms have to develop proper strategies for hiring skilled employees according to job positions. International firms have to manage their diverse workforce culture among the multinational employees. This study is outlining the hiring and recruitment process of Puma. It is Germany based athletic and casual footwear and apparel manufactures. They are operating through the global channel of sportswear and footwear marketing. They are having more than 10,000 employees in the global segment. Thus, Batterham (2014) argued that recruitment and diverse workforce management is one of the crucial strategies of Puma. The role of Puma Talent Management System Team is highly important for the organisation. 1. Three recruitment methods Puma is a multinational firm so they are required to develop proper recruitment methods so that they can communicate job opportunity effectively. Each method is required to avoid discriminatory practices in the international set up of the Puma SE. In addition, the firm will be able to increase the efficiency of their employees and reduce the cross cultural conflicts. Puma is using different type of recruitment processes. Mainly, in the international segment, people are recruited with three different techniques like internal method, external method and third party method. Puma is a big multinational organisation, thus, using all the three techniques is quite easy (Backman, 2011). Internal sourcing policy helps Puma to promote the job opportunity among the existing employees of the business. It can be stated as the reward or promotional policy of existing employees. Such recruitment method will aid Puma in selecting loyal and trustworthy employees. Background checks of the employees are less required in such recruitment policies. Promoted employees will be more motivated, they will be loyal and efficiency of team members gradually increases (Hutchings & DeCieri, 2007). This policy is helping the firm in reducing cost of recruitment. On the other hand, external sourcing policy of Puma is using recruitment of employees from the open labour market. HR department of the firm is using different recruitment tools like job board, newspaper commercial and online portals. Such policy offers firms with skilful candidates, huge knowledge base and collective bargaining option for salary and job timing. External employee’s selection will beget innovative ideas along with vast experience. However, it is a time worthy and costly techniques as firms have to advertise vacancy and conduct interviews (Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield, 2000). In order to recruit most efficient employees, Puma are using third-party sourcing techniques like placement agency, consultants, head-hunters, trade unions, existing employee referrals, data banks and various other stakeholders’ referrals in order to find out competent job applicant (Highhouse & Rada, 2015). 2. Application process of the Puma Puma is having international operational process which is using recruitment of candidates from different nation, area, background and cultural traits. They are having the international recruitment policies with the help of hard copy and soft copy application format. The firm is offering the international candidates through online portal. These portals are collecting huge number of the resumes from the international candidate, which is helping both the candidates and Puma to explore job opportunity. Online method of collecting softcopy applications will increase the potentials of recruiting skilled staff. HR or career portal are helping the HR management of Puma in increasing authenticated applicants. Candidates are judged on the basis of required credentials (Kuhn, 2013). There are certain stages of the application process collection in the Puma multinational set up. Firstly, they review resumes submitted online and through direct HR department submission in various branches. Such applications are firstly judged in terms of the criteria or the skills requirement. Credentials of potential candidates are judged on the basis of the feasibility. Previous employment and educational records are collected and judged by the management level in terms of various factors (Mujtaba, 2015). 3. Procedure used by HR Department of Puma in maintaining applicants records Puma is having huge number of global applicants which are causing them to face the case of discriminatory charge. Management will be using different stages or process so that they are able to recruit proper employees. First Step: Vacancy is indentified and need of the recruitments are evaluated by the HR management. Puma vacancy is created due to the recently created positions and replacement of any insufficient employees (McCarthy, 2013). Second Step: Descriptions of jobs are outlined in terms of informing candidates about potential duties and responsibilities. In this stage, Puma HR are seeking for the talented miscellaneous applicant pool in order to increase options and making occupational hierarchy recruitments. Third Step: Puma HR management will be developing recruitment plan which will be including various factors like the posting timing, positional goals, promotional resources, multiplicity in the agencies and creating resume banks. In this stage, the HR management will be developing a search committee for accessing effective resources (Schmidt & Jensen, 2012). Fourth Step: Posting recruitment criteria in different job portals and execute recruitment plan are the responsibility of the HR personnel. In this stage, HR management will be monitoring the employees for revising the recruitment plans as per different challenges faced like the diversity strategies. The management have to review the skill set of different applicants. They will gradually create a short list of the potential candidates (Powell, 2004). Fifth stage: It is the final stage where the management conducts interview and selects potential candidates from a vast option. They are also negotiating offers and salaries in the offer letter of firms. 4. Three different methods background checks of Puma HR Department of Puma are using different types of methods background checks so that they can justify the credentials and background of the employees as per the job opportunity. Mainly, it was observed that Puma is using three different techniques. Firstly, the HR management are disclosing background screening through the help of a front end survey. Direct survey will be helping firms in terms of collecting information of employee background and demographic requirements (Parry & Tyson, 2011). Secondly, background screening processes are disseminated among the potential employees or candidates. This process will be helping the management to create proper idea among the candidates how to react in certain situations. Finally, HR managers of Puma are developing proper communication technique for justifying the backgrounds of the candidates. They can make the entire process easy and interactive to obtain more information from the candidates (Schmidt & Jensen, 2012). 5. Selection of three different employment tests HR managers of Puma are using the different types of employment tests in order to judge the candidate and its competency. There are some popular employment tests like drug tests, generic tests, medical examinations, polygraphs, HIV tests, psychological tests, honesty tests, intelligence and skills tests and physical fitness that HR Department of the firm can use to identify their employee potentials as per the job requirements. Aptitude Tests: Aptitude tests will be aiding the Puma management in evaluating the level of intelligence among the employees, visualization ability of risks, numerical skills and communicational capabilities. This policy will be helping the Puma management to measure the capabilities and potentials of new candidates (Parry & Tyson, 2011). Physical aptitude and quickness test: Puma is manufacturing various sports apparels and footwear. Thus, evaluation of physical ability and alertness tests are very much essential in order to assess applicants. Management level of Puma is justifying patience, strength, and physical fitness level to execute manufacturing operational tasks. Personality Tests: Personality tests are useful for the organisation in developing idea on the personality or behaviours of the employees or candidates. Puma can use the psychologists and psychiatrists in order to conduct personality tests. It can be done through the counselling of employees (Batterham, 2014). 6. Major challenges of using subjective criteria for assessing soft skills. Hiring and staffing policy of Puma is quite effective in terms of integrating hiring and promotional decisions. The firm is able to express their job opportunity among the international clients. However, they are facing certain major challenges as they are using subjective criteria for measuring soft skills. Puma will be facing the challenges like: Cultural biasness: Candidates are developing the aptitude and attainment with the help of experience. Aptitude is based on the education, background, job opportunities and family culture. Such traits can affect assessment testing consequences. Puma is a multinational and multi departmental firm, facing adverse effects of cross cultural factors. Employees can differ due to their national, cultural, linguistic and knowledge base related factors. Management need to act sharply to remove the challenges (Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield, 2000). Previous experience impacts performance: Result of the aptitude tests can differ due to fluctuation of working policy of the firms. Puma is producing athletic shoes, high performance footwear range. Thus, employee might not specialised knowledge of the operational policy of Puma. Absence of ideal association between aptitude and performance: Aptitude or soft skills do not ensure that the candidate will perform best. Puma will be having different other factors that are affecting the performance. HR managers must be concerned for employees or other stakeholder’s interest while developing operational strategies. They must act more efficiently to motivate the employees and providing proper training to increase ability of new recruits and candidates (Booth, Robson & Welham, 2004). 7. Accommodations for disabled applicants and applicants needing special religious considerations Puma is a large multidepartment organisation so they will be having disabled candidates and interviewee requiring unusual religious contemplation. Thus, the firm needs to develop proper policies for providing sensible lodgings for each of candidate groups. According to the “U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Rehabilitation Act of 1973”, such employees must be provided with proper values and accommodation. These policies will be helping Puma in providing higher values to the employees and increasing the efficiency of the employees. Candidates with disabled applicants and applicants needing special religious considerations will be seeking for the accommodations in order to enjoy equal opportunity that are helping them in competing for the employment opportunity, it will help the group of employees in gaining easier access to the workplace and enjoy increased reimbursement and human rights of employment (Highhouse & Rada, 2015). Puma can be recommended with two different policies for increasing accommodation for the disabled candidates and special spiritual concerned applicants. Firstly, the firm can redesign their work rota and administrative methods for these two groups of candidates. Secondly, they can compromise splits or leaves in the operational process. Disability Program Manager (DPM) must be appointed by the firm in order to create effective administrative and workplace culture (Batterham, 2014). 8. Affirmative action violation and managing harassment issues According to Booth, Robson & Welham (2004), affirmative action violation is mainly stating that the firms are avoiding the special rights provisions of the hiring terms of the ethnic minorities. Organisations are continuing past discrimination among the minority groups. It reduces the social value of the firms and governments are imposing different type of legal rules for developing ethnic minority groups. For example, “University of California v. Bakke, (1978)” case can be stated where Supreme Court favoured the admission plan of University of California. They are reserving 16 seats for the ethnic minorities (Hutchings & DeCieri, 2007). “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” considers that the sexual harassment is harming the image of firms. These types of harassment can be stated as the acts like sexual special treatment, verbal comments and physical demeanour that will be having certain sexual character. The case of “Williams v. Saxbe (1976)” was interrogated as sexual discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Kuhn, 2013). Puma is operating in international segment and having various operational ad manufacturing centres. Thus, they will be having diversified workforce which will be helping them in meeting the various issues. They are having certain provisions for the ethnic minorities, which are helping them in meeting employment culture (Booth, Robson & Welham, 2004). Moreover, the firm will be able to develop proper remedies for the affirmative action violation policies. Sexual frameworks are mandatory for Puma branches. They are maintaining equal opportunity for the male and female employees so that they can manage harassment issues effectively (McCarthy, 2013). 9. Work-life conflicts Work-life conflicts are highly found in the organisational cultures and employment policies. Employee’s values and ethical considerations are conflicting with various employment laws and operational responsibility. Puma will be facing work-life conflicts in their international process. Such conflicts are reducing the efficiency of the employees. Such conflict can be segmented into different type of the factors. Personal lives and family values to the confrontation: It is observed that the people are facing certain level of conflict in maintaining personal and professional life. Family times are reducing for the increased professional responsibility. Majority of the people are considering family values more than professional commitments. They will be feeling overburdened for the work pressure (Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield, 2000). The changing face of family: Family values are changing rapidly as the relations structure is changing rapidly (Batterham, 2014). Stress and the consequences for employer and employee: Employee and employer relationship is highly solicited to increase workplace efficiency. They are increasing the rate of exchange of strategic directions employees. However, ineffective relation will be increasing the rate of stress among the employees. Thus, productivity of Puma will reduce gradually (Booth, Robson & Welham, 2004). Conclusion From the current study, an in-depth idea on the hiring process and management diverse workforce generated. Puma is multidepartment organisation dealing with the diverse workforce. In the study, major recruitment methods and application process of the Puma are outlined with the conflicts on maintaining applicant’s records. The global firm is using different methods for background checks for creating feasibility in the employment force. Employment tests are gaining importance in the firms like Puma so that they can increase the compatibility. It is also observed that using subjective criteria for assessing soft skills are increasing complexities in the large scale and multinational organisations like Puma. In addition, this study referred that accommodation for disabled people and special religious considering candidates and employees are required in the international firms. Managing harassment issues and Work-life conflicts are aiding Puma in developing most efficient work place environment and they will be gaining competitive advantages. References Backman, C. (2011). Vocabularies of motive among employers conducting criminal background checks. Acta Sociologica, 54(1), 27-44. Batterham, P. (2014). Recruitment of mental health survey participants using Internet advertising: content, characteristics and cost effectiveness. Int. J. Methods Psychiatr. Res., 23(2), 184-191. Booth, N., Robson, C., & Welham, J. (2004). Tolleys managing a diverse workforce. Croydon: LexisNexis UK. Carrell, M., Elbert, N., & Hatfield, R. (2000). 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