Human Resources Management - Essay Example

He planned to hire an office administrator, two route drivers, and a warehouse worker. Beginning in the third quarter of 2009, he toyed with the idea of hiring an operations manager who could handle some of the day-to-day tasks that were starting to drain him professionally and personally. “There was no one to take work off Mark’s plate,” said Dan Price, who is founder of Gravity Payments, a credit card processor, and has served as an informal adviser to Mr. Sims through their chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

“A first senior hire is daunting for an entrepreneur,” Mr. Price said. In fact, the prospect of carving out time to make hires was daunting to Mr. Sims. He recalled spending three days sorting through resumes when he could have been out getting business. With the unemployment rate high, the number of job applicants has surged, making screening even more time-consuming. “I get resumes for driver positions from applicants who don’t even have a license,” he said. In addition, Mr. Sims conceded that he did not have the best record of accomplishment when it came to hiring.

Last year, for example, he brought on employees who seemed “fine” but did not last. A driver he found on Craigslist wrecked a new vehicle. . Sims considered running ads and browsing resumes posted on state employment agency Web sites. At first glance, this seemed the least expensive way to go. However, after factoring in the time for culling resumes, Mr. Sims was less convinced that this was the best way to find candidates, particularly a strong No. 2. His other option was to hire a recruiter, at least to find the operations manager.

However, Mr. Sims was not enthusiastic about spending that kind of money — typically, 20 to 30 percent of the hire’s six-figure salary. He had worked previously with a recruiter who had charged much less ($1,500 per placement), but offered little value. THE DECISION In consultation with Mr. Price, who had taken his own company to 53 employees, from 10, in the previous four years, Mr. Sims decided to use a recruiter to find his operations manager, beginning the process last November. The agency began by interviewing Mr.

Sims, who said he was surprised to realize during the conversation just how much he disliked operations. Once the agency understood his needs, it sent him the resumes of 12 candidates. Of those, Mr. Sims selected six and spent a day interviewing them back-to-back. He then ranked them and scheduled second interviews with the top two — a former chief financial officer and a former tech entrepreneur who had built a business from three to 35 employees before selling it. Mr. Sims, Mr. Price and a human resources employee from Gravity Payments conducted second interviews at the agency.

The process took half a day. Mr. Sims interviewed one candidate, while Mr. Price and his colleague interviewed the other, and then