Essay: Recruitment strategies (Best Buy)

Question 1A: Describe and justify two recommendations for improving the recruitment of entry level “blue shirt” sales specialists in the retail stores.
i) Expand electronic recruiting – Facebook and Instagram (aim at passive job seekers)
Best Buy currently heavily relies on “blue shirt” recruitment through job postings on its website and third-party websites such as indeed.com and kijiji.ca (Daniels, 2018). Although it is evident that these job aggregators generate a lot of traffic (Trifilio, 2017), Best Buy’s reliance on them will deprive them of the ability to attract passive job seekers, including those who are currently holding sales positions in other companies but are unsatisfied. It could be the case that they aren’t unsatisfied enough to welcome the hassle of looking for a new job, but Best Buy can utilize this ‘labor market’ by engaging in electronic recruiting through social media platforms of Facebook and Instagram. Even though Best Buy already currently promote job vacancies on LinkedIn, research conducted by The Social Media Lab at Ryerson University in 2018 shows that only 9.2 percent of the adult Canadian population use LinkedIn daily, as compared to the 66.36 and 22.57 percent on Facebook and Instagram (McKinnon, 2018). By advertising their entry level “blue shirt” sales specialist positions on Facebook and Instagram, they are likely to attract more applicants, even those who were not actively seeking jobs. Moreover, for an entry-level position, it would be highly effective for Best Buy to advertise on Facebook and Instagram as only “6 months of job related experience” is needed which could help to potentially attract the younger demographic. Active promotion for their vacancies instead of only for their products on social media platforms also help keep the Best Buy employer brand in people’s minds even when they aren’t looking for a job. And in the long run, when the time comes when they are, there is an increased chance that they will think of Best Buy.
ii) Improve job posting (competitive labor market)
When advertising their entry level “blue shirt” sales specialist positions on job aggregators such as indeed.com, Best Buy Canada is competing with a high volume of sales and retail positions for other companies. With an average of 22,283 job postings per month for retail positions and 33,578 for sales on indeed.com alone (Indeed, 2018), Best Buy needs to be able to differentiate themselves from the competition and try to get their job posting to stand out. Although the current job posting already briefly mentions how they value their employees, they can further emphasize their ‘people culture’ by including a link to their website where they could upload a video that focuses on Best Buy Canada employees to tell a story and give a reason for why potential applicants should want to work there. This will help them communicate a strong employer value proposition and accentuate their unique employer brand by attaching a visual and cultural brand to the organization (Shaw, 2018). Best Buy can also increase the effectiveness of their job posting by including the pay and working hours that the potential applicant can expect from the job. With the abundance of similar sales and retail positions up on job boards and job aggregators, potential applicants will very much likely apply for and aim to acquire those with highest pay and most flexible hours. By having none listed, there is a risk that Best Buy’s job post will slip from their minds and Best Buy will end up losing these candidates to competitors. Including information about pay and hours will also allow Best Buy to address these concerns upfront and end up with better, more informed candidates (Melhuish, 2017). It will furthermore reduce their costs of sorting through applicants who find the pay or working hours incompatible by weeding them out earlier in the process.
Question 1B: Describe and justify two recommendations for improving the recruitment of software developers in the head office.
i) Participate in job fairs
Participating in job fairs could maximize Best Buy Canada’s recruitment efforts for software developers in the head office by potentially introducing them to large pools of qualified candidates (Hamel, 2016). Specifically, attending job fairs such as the ‘HackerNest Tech Job Fair’ exposes them to a large number of job seekers in the tech industry. With 58 percent of their attendees having 4+ year of experience (HackerNest, 2018), it will provide Best Buy with candidates who already fulfill their minimum requirement of 3 years experience with a high probability that some of them are actively seeking employment. It is a good occasion for them to not only meet talent and showcase their successes, but also as another opportunity to get involved with the community and highlight their values regarding the importance of people. Recruiting at job fairs will also provide Best Buy with the ability to have one-on-one dialogues with potential recruits. This could be beneficial for them by allowing them to verbally and more personally sell their employer brand and establish a more humane image to the company, edging in a personal connection between Best Buy and the potential candidate, fostering a yearning to belong. Furthermore, participating in job fairs will increase both the visibility and publicity of Best Buy, generating chatter and a chance to attract future applicants (Russel, 2017).
ii) Extend employee referral program benefits
Best buy should consider extending their employee referral program benefits for recruitment of software developers in the head office. Instead of just offering cash rewards of $50-$1,200, they should offer a mix of both monetary and non-monetary incentives. These non-monetary incentives can be in the form of gift vouchers, time-off, additional vacation days, or other perks and benefits that would further incentivize employees to take part. Another addition could be for Best Buy to acknowledge their best referrers. Consider an employee who has already successfully referred two people for the job. Best Buy should then encourage them to refer even more applicants by handing out awards at the end of each year for their best referrers. This could be in the form of a physical award, or even a dedicated page on Best Buy Canada’s website. This would appeal to employees’ self-esteem needs and lets them know that they are valued and that their efforts are sincerely appreciated, all while reinforcing Best Buy’s employer brand as a company that values its people. For example, Dell uses a social sourcing tool to award points to their “Top Referrers” and publish their names in their internal system (Bika, 2018). This generates a sense of achievement for those employees and establishes a goal for others to work towards, boosting overall employee morale. Referrals as a source of recruitment is considerably more beneficial than others due to factors such as retention rates and yield ratios. Statistics show that referrals have the highest retention rates after one year with 46 percent, as compared to the 33 and 22 percent from career sites and job boards (Sullivan, 2012). At top performing firms, referrals also have the highest yield ratio, with one hire for every three applicants, as compared to an average ratio of 1 to 18 (Sullivan, 2012).
Question 2: How would you describe Best Buy Canada’s overall employer brand? Justify how your four strategic recommendations for recruitment listed in Question 1 align with that overall employer brand.
Best Buy Canada has proven time and time again that they are an employer to be recognized. Selected as part of BC’s Top Employers in 2018 and Canada’s Top 100 Employers in 2019, it is evident that Best Buy exerts a lot of focus on their people and have a lot of care for their engagement and culture (Peterson, 2017). Best Buy is highly ranked in terms of community involvement, training and skills development, and employee engagement and performance (Leung & Yerema, 2018), reinforcing their employer brand as one whose values lie within “unleashing the power of our people”. The four strategic recommendations for recruitment listed above aligns with their overall employer brand by placing an emphasis on their ‘people culture’. Expanding Best Buy Canada’s electronic recruitment to Facebook and Instagram and participating in job fairs exhibits an increased level of engagement with the community through the allowance of personal and direct conversations. Improving their job posting by providing a link to an uploaded video on their site allows potential applicants to take a peek inside Best Buy Canada’s employee community and demonstrates how Best Buy highly values their employees and their voices. Moreover, including information regarding pay and expected working hours shows how Best Buy Canada cares about their applicant’s convenience by providing them with information. Lastly, by extending their employee referral program benefits through the introduction of awards and a “Top Referrers” page on Best Buy Canada’s website, they are letting their employees know that they are valued and appreciated by the company. All in all, the four recommendations work together in establishing a stronger foundation for Best Buy Canada’s employer brand.
Question 3A: Describe and justify two recommendations for improving the selection of entry level “blue shirt” sales specialists in the retail stores.
i) Evaluate reliability and validity of Infor Talent Science – conduct group interviews
Best Buy Canada has several steps in its recruitment process for its entry level “blue shirt” sales specialists, one of which is the Infor Talent Science which selects best fit candidates for Prescreen. One of its implementation objectives is for Best Buy to reduce the number of prescreen interviews by measuring applicants’ behavioral fit with the company. However, questions such as “I want to be the boss” is not an accurate measurement of this as candidates will tend to try and guess what they think the is the ‘right answer’ instead of being truthful (CU Boulder, 2016). Those who sincerely do want to be the boss, might refrain from answering “completely agree” in fear that they might be perceived as egotistical. On the other hand, individuals who have no desire to be the boss might also stop themselves from answering “completely disagree” as it might lead to assumptions that they are submissive or unambitious. This leads to the question of whether the test is truly valid and poses a risk of mistakenly turning away qualified candidates. To evaluate the behavior of their applicants, Best Buy could instead hold group interviews to allow candidates to interact with one another in a live setting. This would enable the interviewers to observe their behavior instead of taking what the candidate tells them at face value and allow them to gain valuable insights to each applicant’s personality, with even the possibility of uncovering potential leaders (Alexander, n.d.). This allows Best Buy to assess whether each candidate has the necessary skills for social interaction with customers, and could act as a more reliable tool of measuring behavioral fit.
ii) Trial period – observe and assess performance
Best Buy Canada’s final interview consists of a roleplay section where applicants are assessed based on how well they perform in a provided scenario. Although this could provide good insight to how applicants will react in the given situation, it discounts factors such as exhaustion and irritability, which would in reality affect their performance on a day-to-day basis. This limitation can be overcome by implementing a paid trial period, anywhere between a day to a week, for Best Buy’s entry level “blue shirt” sales specialists as the final selection stage. Not only will it help better determine if there is a behavioral match between the candidate and the company, it also allows Best Buy to observe and assess the candidate’s true abilities. Soft skills such as an individual’s work ethic, interpersonal skills, communication, teamwork, and other behavioral traits such as their personality and habits, are not easily measured through tests, assessments, or even interviews (Cannon, 2012). A trial run would allow Best Buy to see whether the candidates are able to effectively communicate and assist potential buyers. Aside from this, it also allows the candidate to gain a better understanding of what the job really is and all that it entails, not leaving room for excuses such as “I was not informed” or “I didn’t know” after employment has been confirmed. This could even further benefit Best Buy by lowering potential turnover rates which would offset the costs of paying for the trial period by reducing the costs associated with recruitment and selection (QuickBooks Canada Team, 2018).
Question 3B: Describe and justify two recommendations for improving the selection of software developers in the head office.
i) Work sample test
For the recruitment of Best Buy’s software developers in the head office, they should introduce a work sample test along with their panel interviews. The senior developers could give candidates a sample piece of work and allocate a given period of time for the candidates to work on it before assessing their performance, allowing them to evaluate the candidates’ technical and problem solving skills as well as how well they manage their time while working under pressure. Another reason why a work sample test would be a good addition is because it mirrors closely to the actual work that the candidate will perform in the job, providing Best Buy with an insight to how well they will meet the standards of the position (Kandefer, 2018). Research conducted reviewing the efficiency of the different methods of testing candidates show that a work sample test is the best predictor of a developer’s future performance (Kandefer, 2018). Given this, Best Buy should ensure that the task is manageable and provide candidates with access to the same environment and resources that an existing Best Buy Canada software developer would have. To ease the selection process, Best Buy should ensure that the work sample test is standardized throughout all candidates so that their performance can more easily be compared. They should also develop a well-defined rubric to ensure that the candidates are assessed objectively, helping to eliminate bias by filtering out external factors that could affect their judgement (Kandefer, 2018).
ii) Group case interview
Best Buy should consider conducting a group case interview after the second round of panel interviews. At this stage, they can already establish that the remaining candidates are competent in terms of skill level. However, they should aim to select those candidates who are also a good behavioral and cultural fit. By requiring the candidates to work together to solve the given case, Best Buy will be able to examine each candidates’ team behaviors such as collaboration, effective communication, and even adaptability. This will allow them to observe how well each candidate will fit with the existing employees and determine whether there are individuals with clashing behavioral values and personality traits. It is important for Best Buy to Ensure that a candidate will be a good team player because a functional team will make for a more effective one. By selecting those individuals who measure up to their behavioral standards, Best Buy will be able to improve the compatibility of its employees and sustain an engaging and productive work environment.