Assignment Problem: A Silicon Valley recruiting firm searches for artificial intelligence (AI) and technology personnel for major companies around the world. The recruits' workplace could be located anywhere the company operates, depending on their skills and expertise, although the tendency is to hire in-country nationals in each respective country. The company uses technology-oriented magazines, the company website, and social media to recruit the candidates they need for their clients. They started up about a year ago and went from 3 to 50 recruiters. Their recruiters are hired for their charm, communication skills, and industry expertise; however, most of the recruiters graduated from Ivy League colleges in the U.S. and most are white males. Lately recruiting numbers have been slowing down drastically, while general demand in the marketplace by employers for AI and technology personnel for the coming year is up 300%.
The current recruiting practice involves hiring people via the firm's website recruitment area. The potential candidate merely attaches their resume and includes a short note to the recruiter (Step 1). These resumes are then screened (Step 2) using a data mining program, looking for certain criteria and terminology in their resumes. Those candidates getting through the initial screening are then auto-contacted by email (Step 3) to tell them they need to complete a quiz on the website using a particular password. If they pass this second screening, they are given an individual interview (Step 4) via the company's online conference room. The final candidates are sent to the potential employer for the final interview (Step 5) and selection (Step 6).
Now, however, the president is getting complaints from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the technology firms that they need to be hiring a more diverse workforce and that there are no disabled candidates, and the number of minorities and women is almost nil. The president is now worried about losing clients and about potential lawsuits as a result of the firm's recruiting and selection processes. The company needs to address a diverse client base. Their clients' customers are predominantly Northern European, African American, Indian, and Hispanic.
Q1. Identify at least three problems with the potential candidate characteristics for which they are hiring and what would be more viable characteristics and criteria for hiring these types of candidates.
Q2. Identify and explain at least three problems with the company's recruitment and selection process.
Q3. What multicultural and diversity planning concepts would you apply at the company to make a positive change? How can these changes be made?
Q4. Describe what changes you would make to address complaints from the EEOC and the technology firms. How can these changes be made?