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33. SKILL BUILDER: PHASED RETIREMENT OPTIONS
I. OBJECTIVES:
1. To give students practice in using the Internet to generate information relevant to
solving human resource problems.
2. To familiarize students with various option to traditional employee retirement.
II. TIME REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT: One or two hours.
III. INSTRUCTIONS: See text.
IV. POSSIBLE SOLUTION:
Given the above two objective, the instructor may choose to discuss both the e6cacy of various
web sites in genera'ng useful information on the topic of phased retirement as well as the substan've
specific of various option the students may iden'fy on Form 2.4. Among the possible phased
Some possible advantages and disadvantages of these three are outlined on Form 2.4. Other
possible option might include delaying the retirement age from age 55 to 65 (with no opportunity to
re're a@er 25 years), providing an op'on to stay on beyond age 55 at the discre'on of both the
Form 2.4
Phased retirement option
Op'on 1: Par'al retirement with Part-Time Employment Contract
Advantages/Bene7ts to the Company: Advantages/Bene7ts to the Employee:
Disadvantages/Costs to the Company: Disadvantages/Costs to the Employee:
Op'on 2: Employee Mentoring Program
Advantages/Bene7ts to the Company: Advantages/Bene7ts to the Employee:
Disadvantages/Costs to the Company: Disadvantages/Costs to the Employee:
Op'on 3: Permanent Full-Time retirement Supplemented by Consul'ng Contract:
Advantages/Bene7ts to the Company: Advantages/Bene7ts to the Employee:
Disadvantages/Costs to the Company: Disadvantages/Costs to the Employee:
threatened.
Recruitment and Selection
34. CASE: RECRUITING RECREATIONAL VEHICLE SURVEYORS
I. OVERVIEW:
This case focuses on how firm can recruit employees for a vacant position. It examines
recruiting sources and the potential benefits and disadvantages of each with reference to a particular
job.
II. OBJECTIVES:
1. To provide a catalyst for discussing potential recruiting sources.
2. To provide a basis for examining the strengths and weaknesses of diKerent recruiting
sources.
3. To explore the pros and cons of using want ads in newspapers.
4. To demonstrate the relationship between recruiting and the characteristic of the
job itself (e.g. pay, working condition, tasks to be performed).
5. To examine the rela'onship between recruiting and selection.
III. DISCUSSION:
This actual case presents what appears to be a hopeless recruiting and selection situation.
Indeed, some students will contend that the firm can't possibly hire employees for this horrible job. Yet
the firm was ultimately able to hire employees although not without some di6cul'es. Faculty members
may want to begin discussing the case by telling students that many organization face what appear to
be difficult recruiting situations and that while students may not want a given job, others do. Many firm
have jobs which are much worse than the ones described here. Yet, those holding these jobs 7nd them
fully sa'sfactory, and the firm is able to hire employees for them.
Another point worth men'oning to students is that many jobs sound or appear in writing to be
much worse than they really are. Indeed, those who performed the jobs mentioned in this case
generally enjoyed them. In fact, not a single employee quit at the worst site, Lake Mead, Nevada, and
turnover was not high at the other sites. By the same token, some jobs sound or appear in writing to be
terri7c when in fact the workers 7nd them boring and unrewarding. The point here is that description
of jobs often diKer from workplace reali'es even if the description are accurate.
One could ask in this case whether the brief job description used by the firm and any resulting
advertisement should be rewriAen so that they don't discourage people from applying. Simply put, the
jobs sound boring. By rewriting the job duties, the firm may be able to aAract more applicants. On the
other hand, turnover may increase once people realize that the jobs are not exci'ng and were
incorrectly adver'sed.
IV. ANSWERS TO CASE QUESTIONS:
1. If you were Bob Getz, how would you recruit the needed employees?
There are many potential sources of applicants available to Bob (e.g., advertising, colleges and
other schools, walk-ins, unemployment security o6ces, unions, friends of employees, employment
agencies). The critical question Bob must address is which sources are the most likely to produce results.
In actuality, the company tried numerous sources to obtain applicants, both in its city and in the
towns near the job sites. Local colleges were contacted, and the company was able to obtain all of the
needed supervisors through this source. Several of the leaders were college juniors who were about to
become seniors; several were recent graduates who had several months to kill for some reason or
The company was not able to 7nd the six remaining surveyors in its local area. These employees
were located, however, a@er each crew arrived at its job site. As crews began to survey recrea'onal
2. Evaluate the Lake Mead campground manager's suggestion that Getz recruit
employees by placing a want ad in the Cleveland newspaper.
Placing a help-wanted adver'sement in a Cleveland newspaper could prove to be successful, but
there are many risks associated with it. A major Cleveland newspaper undoubtedly reaches a large
In actuality, the firm did place an ad in a paper having a large circula'on. This proved to be
disastrous as the Human Resource Department was inundated with unqualified applicants. A@er three
3. What should the firm do if it is unable to recruit suffcient employees for the job?
The importance of this question is that it raises the general issue of what a firm should do if it is
unable to recruit and hire employees for a speci7c job. In short, most firm try to improve their
recruiting techniques and/or change some aspect of the job itself (e.g. work performed, working
So what aspect of the job should the firm change? As a starting point, faculty members may
want to answer this question in a general way by saying that the answer perhaps should be based on a
In practice, many firm must guess at the answer as well, but they make educated guesses, i.e.
A@er making these introductory comments, faculty members may then want to lead a class
discussion regarding the pros and cons of changing the various aspects of the job. Students frequently
35. CASE: RECRUTING AND SELECTING HIGH-LEVEL MANAGERS THROUGH
THE INTERNET
I. OVERVIEW
One of the newest recruitment sources is Internet recruitment. An obvious question is
fihow eKec'ves is such recruitment for which positions”? A small hotel is considering Internet
recruitment for management positions in existing and expansion hotels. Students are asked to
consider three approaches to online recruitment and selection, determine which (if any) makes
the most sense to 7ll hotel management positions, and then determine the details of
implementation.
II. OBJECTIVES
A major objec've of this case is to give students an appreciation of the potential
benefits and limitation of Internet recruiting for management positions. A secondary objec've
is to help students through how to make Internet recruitment more eKec've.
III. DISCUSSION
The major challenge for Jackson Hotels is how to make Internet recruitment of managers
work so they can move away from their previous informal and largely ineKec've recruitment
approach. Perhaps a focus on professional/career websites which focus on particular
occupa'ons and industries might make the most sense here.
IV. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Internet recruitment and selection
for a small but expanding company like Jackson Hotels? How would you minimize
the disadvantages?
One of the major advantages of accepting application online is that employers can
recruit candidates and 7ll their job openings much faster. A second advantage is that online
A potential downside is that pos'ng jobs and accepting online application can lead to
both a very large volume of application which must be processed. A second downside is that
2. Which of the above three approaches to online recruiting and selection (if any)
makes the most sense and why?
The company may want to try one of the generic job search websites listed in the case
3. What prescreening hurdles would you impose on your Internet recruitment in order
to pre-qualify a small number of truly qualified applicants? Why?
Prescreening criteria might include education, length of relevant work experience, willingness to
4. Based on your knowledge of other company’s websites what information should
Jackson Hotels provide to job applicants and what steps should follow Internet
recruitment to iden'fy the most qualified applicants?
They should provide information about the company itself in terms of its origin, future status
and future plans. Then each of the hotels’ community location should be described since these are
A@er the most promising applicants have been identified by Internet recruiting and
prescreening, resumes and references should be checked to determine their veracity and previous job
experience. Background checks should also be used to verify Social Security, past employment history,
Then telephone interviews can be set up with a small number (4-6) of the most promising
candidates. The focus of these telephone interviews will be to determine the candidates’ customer
36. CASE: RECRUITING AND SELECTING LOW-LEVEL WORKERS AMONG
SENIORS
I. OVERVIEW
As personnel shortages have grown in many occupa'ons, employers have turned to
non-traditional recruitment sources including senior citizen. Jackson Hotels faces a recruitment and
selection challenge in 7lling a wide variety of hotel positions since there hotels are located in resort
areas which typically lack a large pool of potential employees. This case will sensi'ze students to
potential problems, benefits, limitation, and strategies associated with recruitment of senior citizen.
II. OBJECTIVES
A major objec've of this case is to give students an appreciation of the potential employer
benefits, recruitment sources, and selection processes for recruiting seniors for a wide variety of
positions. A secondary objec've is to iden'fy a process for doing background checks on senior
applicants so that the high income clientele of Jackson Hotels will not be in danger.
III. DISCUSSION
Jackson Hotels has a major challenge recruiting a high quality workforce in a wide variety of non
professional positions to serve high end customers in resort areas. Senior citizen already living in these
areas, some of whom are re'red from other companies, are a major potential recruitment source. Over
the next decade, the annual growth rate of those 55 plus will be four 'mes the rate of overall labor force
growth. In response, many employers are making posi've eKorts to aAract older workers, especially
those who have taken early retirement. AARP has reported that 68% of workers between 55 and 70 plan
to work in retirement or never re're as a result of their good health, longer life expectancies, and
economic needs. The issue facing Jackson Hotels is how to best recruit seniors who will provide
excellent service to their clients.
IV. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
1. What recruitment sources do you recommend Jackson Hotels use for the kinds of
positions they are planning to u'lize? Why?
Recruitment of seniors is typically associated with lower recruitment cost, lower training cost,
and lower costs of turnover due to higher reten'on rates of seniors. The only potential downside is
somewhat greater utilization of health services and potentially higher health insurance premiums for
One possible source of senior workers it to simply retain those already by Jackson Hotels who
Major external recruitment sources are websites, newspapers, trade journals, radio, television,
and e-mail. Selec'vity can be achieved by using newspapers, journals, and websites directed towards
senior citizen. A second external source is present employee referrals. The quality of employee
referred applicants is usually quite high since employees are generally hesitant to recommend
A final external recruitment source is the private employment services which focus on 7lling
2. What background investigation, if any, would you recommend to diKeren'ate
acceptable from unacceptable job candidates? Why?
See question four for Case Number 34. Courts have held that employers may be liable for
negligent hiring if they fail to do adequate background checks. Background checks should include social
3. What selection criteria and processes would you recommend to iden'fy the fibest”
candidates? Why?
The criteria should be relevant to the particular position, although there are some generic
criteria which may well apply across positions such as desk clerk, night manager, reserva'ons personnel,
maid service, food service, and maintenance. These criteria might include honesty and integrity, verbal
The process should involve of an applica'on (either online or hardcopy) and an initial
preliminary interview by Human Resources to determine whether the candidate meets the minimum job
requirements. If so, then a background investigation may commence to determine if there are any fired
Eags”. If there are none, then HR may want to work with the manager of the department to select
37. CASE: SELECTING PATIENT ESCORTS
I. OVERVIEW:
This case raises a number of questions regarding the utility of diKerent approaches in selecting
employees. However, it also focuses on the more global issue of whether an organiza'on should change
its selection procedure to try to solve a problem or try to solve the problem in other ways. To be more
speci7c, in this case a number of patient escorts have engaged in dysfunc'onal behavior. They have
treated patients rudely, have been rough with them, have scolded them, etc. The hospital has now
decided it should change its selection process in an aAempt to eliminate this dysfunc'onal behavior. Yet,
as an alterna've, it could have tried to eliminate this behavior through the use of rewards, discipline, or
some other means.
II. OBJECTIVES:
1. To examine the pros and cons of using various selection devices (applica'on blanks,
interviews, and tests).
2. To examine the role of selecting competent employees vs. using other approaches as
a way of eliminating dysfunc'onal employee behavior.
3. To familiarize students with the steps in a well constructed recruitment and selection
process.
4. To make students aware of the importance of developing job
description/speci7ca'ons as the first step in the selection process.
III. DISCUSSION:
In recent years, hospitals have become extremely marketing oriented. They are very concerned
with patient satisfaction and their image in the community. This is particularly true in areas served by
more than one hospital. It is understandable, then, why City Hospital is concerned with the patient
escorts' job performance.
In introducing this case, the instructor may want to begin by taking the opposite tact, i.e. siding
with the patient escorts and arguing that there is nothing seriously wrong with escorts who want to
"goof oK" a bit. What's wrong with having a liAle fun once in a while? So what if a few patients get
somewhat angry? In social situations, students often talk about jobs they have had and know how lax
some firm are about goo7ng oK. Aren't the patient escorts just behaving in a manner similar to those at
some other firm? What's wrong with that? Isn't the hospital was'ng 'me trying to cure a problem that
doesn't exist? Shouldn't they adopt the philosophy, "If it ain't broke, don't 7x it"? starting the case
discussion by taking the devil's advocate approach helps to establish the seriousness of the employees’
behaviors.
A second introductory point is to remind students that any new selection system may result in
worse problems than the present one. No selection system is perfect, and one can't expect that every
applicant hired will perform in an outstanding manner. While a new selection system could possibly be
developed which would eliminate the present problems, it may create new, more severe problems. For
example, at one university, faculty members were hired who did excellent research but did not perform
well in the classroom. The university changed its selection system and found that while the new hires
performed well in class, they were poor researchers. Thus, while the selection system cured one
problem, it created another. This same situation could happen to City Hospital.
IV. ANSWERS TO CASE QUESTIONS:
1. Cri'que each of the alterna've approaches suggested for solving the problem of
selecting patient escorts at City Hospital.
Several recommendation were made by various hospital personnel with regard to how the
selection procedure could be improved. One suggestion was that the hospital should ask additional
standardize their applica'on blank and do not want to have a diKerent one for each job; (2) companies
don't want to encourage discrimination suits and therefore don't ask questions about religious beliefs,
memberships, etc.; and (3) leAers of recommenda'on are very poor predictors of subsequent job
success or failure, particularly if the applicant can choose whom he or she wants to submit the
The Assistant Human Resource Manager's suggestion that applicants be asked stress-producing
questions has numerous faults which are worthy of discussion. First, it assumes that the patient escorts
are engaging in rude behavior because their job is stress producing. But, is that the real reason for their
behavior? One would think not. Secondly, would the employees' reaction to the stress questions
The suggestion that the hospital should develop an aUtude test is likewise fraught with
problems. Most human resource texts point out the problems associated with personality tests (e.g.,
In actuality, the hospital's aAempt to develop an aUtude test was abandoned once it realized
that it was impossible to develop a list of aUtudes that could diKeren'ate between excellent and
2. Recommend a procedure for recruiting and hiring patient escorts.
There are several points that could be made with regard to this question. First, the selection
procedure should begin by conducting a job analysis with respect to the patient escort position (faculty
members may want to talk about the diKerent job analysis procedures at this point). Based on the job
analysis, the hospital needs to develop a job descrip'on and speci7ca'ons for the position. Some
Second, while it is impossible to determine the most eKec've approach for hiring patient escorts
now, the case does provide some clues as to the present system's shortcomings. For example, the case
states that the patient escort job is a simple one and requires few skills, yet employees apparently feel
the need to mistreat patients. This may suggest that the hospital is hiring over-qualified people who 7nd
3. Besides improving its selection procedures, what other action could the hospital
potentially take to improve the behavior of the patient escorts?
The hospital does have alternative for trying to solve its patient escort problem other than
developing a new selection system. For example, if the hospital improved its orientation and training
program or oKered additional training to patient escorts, their behavior might improve. Alternately, the
still other alternative include redesigning of the patient escort job so as to make it more
Whether the hospital should develop a new selection system or merely follow one of the
alternative suggested above is typically decided on the basis of some cost/benefit analysis; i.e., what
are the costs and benefits of developing a new selection system vs. the potential costs and benefits of
taking some other alterna've? In this case, the hospital obviously believes that developing a new
