Service Blueprints and Risk Assessment in a Small Business - Essay Example

Service Blueprints and Risk Assessment in Small Business Name Institution Date Service Blueprints and Risk Assessment in a small business Introduction Service blueprints are considered to be advantageous because they help to evade the risk of over-simplification. Therefore, blueprints are important techniques that lead to completeness since they are more objective and work to eliminate bias. As a result, service blueprints provide adequate mapping of various services and processes. The components of a service blueprint include the physical evidence, customer actions, the onstage and backstage contacts as well as support processes as illustrated below (Bitner, Ostrom & Morgan, 2008). Body Service blueprints are tools used to simultaneously depict the service process, the points of client contact and provide evidence of service in reference to the client’s point of view. Thus, service blueprinting isolates the fail points, creates a time frame to analyze profitability. Service blueprints have widely been utilized in the human resource management sector where they work to characterize jobs, used as appraisal techniques and appropriate methods for employee selection. This implies that blueprints facilitate the role of Human resources of empowering human element in terms of job descriptions, selection process as well as appraisal systems. Furthermore, blueprints are useful in operations management where they provide administration of the fail points, training and management of quality (Kalakota & Robinson, 2009). This report focus on the techniques of recruit process based on services blueprint 1. Discuss with the human resources for employment conditions Based on the normal human capital management process, a service blueprint will be necessary to provide complete and easy-to-use results that should be made available for the recruitment process. Since a complete human resource recruitment process or service starts with the job requisition towards hiring the new employees. A blueprint will be necessary for information collection as well as applications management, discuss on the relevant ways of how the internal and external sourcing of candidates will be implemented. This will involve establishing the recruitment agencies management, developing time frames for screening, interviewing and training of employees. At this point, reference checking will be considered, discussions will be made on contracts management, on-boarding and if need be for initial training. The hiring officials will be required to develop timeline for search process, for instance, targets for advertising, candidate interviews and application screening. Furthermore, elements of the position description on minimum as well as the desired qualifications, scope of search, salary and essential functions will be discussed (Fließ & Kleinaltenkamp, 2004). 2. Focusing on selection process The recruitment and selection blueprint will act as a workbook to guide a search from the onset of the selection process to the end. Since every component of a selection process is broken out separately, the technique of blueprint may seem to be complex at first glance. This is not the case because different components of the selection process will be undertaken simultaneously based on the candidate’s qualifications and in the closest sequence. This will enable the process of selection to flow quickly and smoothly. This implies that a high level of detail associated with blueprints helps to ensure that no single important step is overlooked during the search and selection process, but follows the required steps in sequential manner. The step will involve selection of finalist for request to hire where a TAM will be used to prepare the job offer prior to sending email request to the HR recruitment and selection manager for approval so as to make the job offer. On the other hand, rejection of the applicants or candidate that may have not been selected (Carless, 2010). 3. Research and select the candidate to meet the HR expectations The blueprint will lead the hiring officials as well as the Search Committee through the various steps considered important to successful search conclusions. Blueprints will be developed based on the innovative practices to enhance the quality of recruitment process. Data extraction techniques that are powered by the Brass-Ring recruitment solution will be used to research and select candidates that meet the human resource expectations. As a result, it will be easy to extract the job candidates’ information from any uploaded files into the structured fields. This will be presented to as well as confirmed by candidates in the real-time, and thus enabling to eliminate the need for any internal data entry that could be associated with the risk of data errors. Appropriate data mining techniques will be considered to enhance the primary screening process by competently matching the vacancies’ requirements with the available skill information about candidates. The job offer will be made to the finalists after the approval of HR. Once the job offer is accepted, the hiring official will be required to submit the finalist’s signed background or checked document to HR recruitment and selection (CAFPRR, 2011). 4. Organizing an interview with the candidates before meeting HR In order to seek more elaboration about the opinions of the applicant and to assess the probable competence in the position, the selection panel will design interview based on the position descriptions or requirements. Call candidates to inform them about the date of interview. This will provide the applicant with the opportunity to make own realistic preview of the job requirements expected of him or her. Through screening interview, a recruiter will be required to discuss with the candidate over the phone to determine if that particular candidate meets the basic job or skill requirements prior to recommending him or her to the hiring manager. This will be the best opportunity to discuss basic qualification and alignment of skills, education and training, accomplishments, compensation history and requirements, the size, industry segment and cultural preferences as well as issues related to non-competes, travel restrictions and citizenship status (Human Resources Service Centre, 2010). 5. Agreement contract will be signed between HR and selected candidate on the booked date. The service blueprint will clearly illustrate the interaction between different players within the newly designed process. It will demonstrate how essential it is for all individuals that have taken part in the new service to identify and understand the process, illustrate the handoffs as well as how they are related. This suggest that the line of visibility clearly directs everyone involved in offering the recruitment service what the job applicant or prospective employee should and should not see. In order to move to the job offer, it will be important to validate the candidate evaluations by interviews with other officials within the organization and through the use of traditional reference checks. However, the recruiting officer should be ready to rank a candidate pool as well as move towards the offer. It could be important to use the on-line candidate assessment tool that will enhance further objective validation of the hiring officer’s conclusions. It is advisable to assess the cultural fit into the organization. Studies indicate that candidates who fail in their roles, it has been estimated that 90% of the total time it was due to the fact that such candidates failed to fit with the company’s culture, whereas only 10% of failure was as a result of inadequate skills. The hiring official will be required to send the offer letter which contains start date, job conditions and salary inclusive of the new hire employee packet to a candidate and the signed acceptance or the job offer letter should be returned to the hiring official (Human Resources Service Centre, 2010). A service blueprint for a Recruitment Service Wait Fail The front-stage Back-stage Assessment risk Risk Assessment Risk in business refers to the chance of an action which may occur and impact upon objectives. Risk assessment involves the evaluation of risks against the likelihood of them occurring as well as the severity or the magnitude of their impacts in terms of loss or damage, high or low as a result of risk occurrence. Bringing on the new employees is considered to be risky, time consuming and costly process. For instance, bad hires cost a company approximately 50% to 150% of the total employees’ annual salary (Engle, 2010). Therefore, it could be important for the hiring team to consider hiring the candidates with the best qualifications to assess and avoid the risks such as oversimplification, incompleteness, subjectivity and biased interpretation which in most cases rely on words alone. It is important to note that blueprints are relevant because they help to avoid the risk of over-simplification where opposed to the words alone, use of blueprints ensures completeness, high level of objective and works to eliminate bias. This will provide adequate mapping of recruitment services and process on offer (Chitra, 2012). Risk assessment has been considered a growing area of concern for small business since the costs of not covering off on certain categories of risks are emerging sharply in regard to the rapid changes within the external environment (Strawbridge, 2010). The risk of hiring candidates with inadequate qualifications may arise as a result of oversimplification, incompleteness, subjectivity and biased interpretation of candidates’ data. Such risks have high likelihood for selection of incompetent candidates, and thus causing poor performance. However, through creative risk mitigation approach and the use of service blueprints, it will be easy to avoid the risks since the technique promotes a high level of completeness, objective and eliminates bias. The human resource recruitment and selection team through the technique of service blueprint will ensure that a clear job description is provided. In addition, appropriate selection criteria and appraisal systems are used to empower the human resource. Since a service blueprint can be focused on the isolation of fail points, establishment of a time frame as well as to analyse profitability, it would be easy to identify, assess and control the identified risks in the recruitment process (Gibbons, Myles. 2011). References Bitner, J.M, Ostrom,L.A & Morgan,N.F. 2008. “Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation,” California Management Review, 50 (Spring), 66-94. CAFPRR. 2011. Advice to Search Committees and Job Seekers on Entry-Level Faculty Recruitment and Hiring. Carless, S.A. 2010. Literature review on best practice recruitment selection techniques, Melbourne, Monash University. Chitra, Nawbatt. 2012. “Four Reasons Your Small Business Needs Risk Management.” Retrieved September 26, 2012 from, Engle, P. 2010. “Enterprise risk management time. Ind”. Eng., 41(5): 20. Fließ, S & Kleinaltenkamp, M. 2009. “Blueprinting the service company: Managing service processes efficiently.” Journal of Business Research, 57 (4), pp. 392-404. Gibbons, Myles. 2011. “How to Become Chief Risk Officer for Small Business Clients. Small businesses turn first to their insurance agent for risk management guidance”. Insurance Journal West Magazine. Human Resources Service Centre. 2010. “Step-by-Step Recruitment Guide: A guide to Recruitment, Selection and Appointment Process”. Retrieved September 26, 2012 from, Kalakota, R & Robinson, M. 2009. Services Blueprint: Roadmap for Execution. Addison-Wesley. Boston. Strawbridge, Matthew. 2010. Risk Management and your Small Business. Walden University. Read More