Remembering that Accountco is a small firm, some of the solutions above might be cost prohibitive. As Tom’s research revealed, salary average increases is now about 4% and ahead of inflation. Would Accountco be able to offer this perhaps not, hence the need to look at the other methods to improve recruitment? Tom’s research also indicated that the demand for experienced accountants remain high, this could adversely affect the firm as the experienced employees might be tempted to leave to “greener pastures”. It is hoped that the solutions offer above in relation to the retention of experienced staff would help prevent this.
However other opportunities exist, where in the public sector 20% of employers would be looking to shed accounting staff. Accountco can seize this opportunity and astutely market itself as the firm to be employed in. Tom’s research will be instrumental to the human resource consultant in designing packages to attract new recruits. Tom because of his core function and experience (accountant) will not have been able to adequately use his information to do this.
The humane resource consultant versed in needs theories (Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland and Frederick Herzberg Motivator-Hgiene Theory) will be best positioned to so just this. His in-depth understanding of Equity, Reinforcement and Expectancy Theories very necessary in the formulation of favourable packages to suit the needs of the firm. Budget Very necessary, is the formulation of a budget to deal with the new initiative. This budget must be structured and planned taking all activities into consideration. Having an idea of the costs of failing to make an appointment, or of making an incorrect appointment is a good way of judging how much should be spent.
Evaluation and Establishing Benchmarks The effectiveness of the recruitment process and its success cannot be done in a void. Clear benchmarks must be formulated to determine if the right strategy was used in the recruitment process and if the right selection was made. The tests must be both reliable and valid for proper evaluation. If this is not so, the information analysed might not be correct and Accountco will be mislead, leading to serious consequences to its continued successful operation. A small firm does not have the latitude of making poor selections as the cost of removing and hiring a next person is quite high, thus all efforts must be made in making the right selection at the start.
Summary The need for a human resource consultant at Accountco is clear, no one at the firm has the experience and the knowledge to affect the changes in the human resource function that is needed for the survival of the firm. A consultant is preferred over an in-house human resource specialist as the cost of the latter is prohibitive in a small firm. The process must involve strategic planning as the core as the firm need to reposition its business thinking and strategies to meet the turbulent changes of the day and to be successful in the future.
The best recipe for the retention of experienced of old staff and the recruitment of new should revolve around the firm meeting the professional and personal growth of its employees. That is, a friendly, supportive and flexible work environment that promotes intellectual growth. Also, its recruitment strategies must include the use of series of marketing media – career fairs, trade shows, sponsorship programmes, newspaper and magazine advertising.
Bibliography
Gordon Judith, Organizational Behavior 7th Edition, Prentice Hall 2002
Kotler and Armstrong (2001) Principles of Marketing, Ninth Edition. Prentice Hall: New Jersey.
Torrington, Derek et al (2002) Human Resource Management. Prentice Hall: Great Britain.
