- Based on the information given but in your own words, explain what approaches to recruiting might be best suited for Apple's talent acquisition.
There are several recruitment approaches that company use during their recruitment processes. One of the approaches is in-house recruitment through the human resource department. The department undertakes the entire process of advertising, interviewing and short listing qualified candidates. In some cases, the final decision on who gets employed is made by top level management who may not be part of the human resource team.
Companies can outsource the recruitment service to specialized recruitment firms through the recruitment process outsourcing. These are companies that specialize in recruiting individuals for a particular industry. Additionally, there are employment agencies that are either privately or privately funded. Such agencies recruit skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers for various career types and levels at a price.
Another popular recruitment approach is the executive search. As the name suggests, this process is usually done when recruiting top executives. In this process, companies identify exemplary individuals who are employed in another organization and offer them a better package as an incentive to work for them. In recent times, the internet has become a popular recruitment site. There various websites and search engines that are used by employers and job seekers alike to find employees and vacancies respectively
There are no restrictions on the number of approaches that can be used at a time. Companies regularly use a combination of approaches in order to get the best individuals from the available options. Apple would benefit from a combination of in-house recruitment, outsourcing, executive search and internet recruitment.
In house recruitment would allow apple to scrutinize the resumes of all applicants and select the most qualified according to the company’s need. Human resource executives could also use the opportunity to promote within the ranks of the organization therefore reducing recruitment costs associated with outsourcing the recruitment service.
Outsourcing has become popular in the last two decades because of the cost reduction benefits it provides. Apple can outsource the services of a recruitment firm to seek the most talented individuals for a particular job. Outsourcing would allow Apple to concentrate on important internal procedures such as product invention, design and marketing.
Executive search is perhaps the most reliable talent recruitment option. Apple operates in a highly competitive consumer electronics market where innovation is everything (Kane & Clark, 2009). The executive search is conducted through established professional networks within the labor market. Recruiting officials use these networks to pin point the most qualified individuals who are approached with attractive offers. Apple could recruit executives from its closest competitors such as Nokia and Samsung. They can also head-hunt from any other competitive that operate within the industry. This recruitment approach is one of the best because Apple would be picking individuals with proven performance records.
- Describe the recruiter traits and behaviors that would lead to the most successful recruiting campaign for Apple.
Recruiters are individuals within organizations who perform the task of selecting the best employees for their organization. These individuals work within the human resource department. A good recruiter is the one who s able to select the best staff for the organization out of a pool of many qualified potential employees. To perform this role effectively, a recruiter should have a certain set of skills which sets them apart from other recruiters.
The first and perhaps the most important trait is the ability to network. The ability to network can only stem from an interest in people. If a recruiter is not a people person, he or she will not be able to build good professional networks. A great recruiter should be able to build a wide personal and online network which they can tap whenever there is a recruitment exercise (Gatewood, Field & Barrick, 2011).
The second vital skill is marketing skills. A great recruiter should be able to aggressively sell the company and create interest in the applicants. Marketing skills can be demonstrated in the quality of advertisements prepared for the recruitment process. Furthermore, an excellent recruiter should be able to balance the needs of the company and the expectations of the job applicant.
Thirdly, a great recruiter should have the ability to personalize each recruitment process and leverage on the uniqueness of each candidate. Recruiters should avoid generic recruitment processes and employ some personalized tools for each applicant and job group. This ability allows recruiters to identify special capabilities and skills that can be tapped by the recruiting organization.
Lastly, excellent recruiters should be able to utilize various recruitment tools that are available to them (Gatewood, Field & Barrick, 2011). These include web based databases, social networking sites, online recruitment companies and personal profiles. The recruiter should be careful employs these resources without being consumed by their vast potential. The recruiter should reap the benefits of online resources and guard against the risks of virtual networks.
- Suggest three (3) ways that Apple can effectively plan for HR resources. Rank in order of cost to implement.
Human resource is the most important resource in the organization. Human resource planning is the process of identifying, recruiting the best employees to organizational needs in the present and the foreseeable future. Apple has been able to achieve phenomenal success because the company has recruited and retained some of the most talented and qualified individuals in the market (Apple Turning to Chip Design, 2009). This is because Apple has been able to analyze present labor needs, forecast possible labor needs and balance them with supply trends.
The actual Human Resource(HR) planning process starts from determination of key competencies required for each job, secondly incorporating these requirements into existing HR
systems and finally training managers and other relevant officials to use the HR planning process (Apple Increases Investments in Britain, 2009).
When the HR planning process is examined in terms of cost, the second process is the most costly. This is because it requires attention to details, plenty of time and investment in technology such as specialized software development. The second most expensive process is the training process. Apple will have to spend money to hire external trainers or train some of their employees who will be used to train the rest of the staff. The overall cost depends on the complexity of the training and the number of individuals who are to be trained. The least costly process is the determination of job competencies. This can be done by departmental heads who are often experts in their fields.
- Discuss the benefits that forecasting provides for Apple.
Apple will gain from HR forecasting by avoiding future staff shortages or excesses which may affect the competiveness of the company in the consumer electronics market. The industry runs on innovation, technical ability, competitive pricing and brand strength (Apple Turning to Chip Design, 2009). To remain competitive, apple has to ensure that it retains the best talent in the market by anticipating labor market changes that may lead to staff shortages or excesses.
Human Resource planning is not necessarily the first step in HR resource planning. This is because all the key positions and their requirements should be identified before forecasting can be done. After all the key competencies have been identified and defined, HR planners can use their experience, past and future projections. The forecasters can make both long and short term projections with some level of accuracy.
References
Gatewood, R. D., Feild, H. S., & Barrick, M. R. (2011). Human resource selection. Mason, OH: SouthWestern, Cengage Learning.
Yukari Iwatani Kane and Don Clark. (April 30, 2009) In Major Shift, Apple Builds Its Own Team to Design Chips, Wall Street Journal retrieved from http://online.wsj.com ;
Apple Turning to Chip Design for Its Innovation, InformationWeek, April 30, 2009, Business & Company Resource Center. Retrieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com ;
Apple Increases Investment in British Chip Designer, Information Week, June 26, 2009, Business & Company Resource Center. Retrieved from http://galenet.galegroup.com .
