Introduction
Carl Robins, an enthusiastic recruiter, becomes frustrated upon realization that his plans regarding the recruitment had not turned out as he expected. He was confident that he had everything planned out well and that the training would be successful. The turn of events, unluckily left him frustrated with no idea of where to begin.
Carl has been in employment for ABC Inc. as the campus recruiter for the past six months, and this was his first successful recruitment effort. He had the assignment of recruiting 15 candidates, who were to work for Monica Carrolls, the operations supervisor. The recruitment occurred in early April, and the orientation was for June 15. A month to the orientation day, Monica inquired about Carl’s progress on the preparation of the event, and he confidently assured her that everything will be in order. He is required to coordinate various things such as ensuring that the training schedules, orientation manuals and policy booklets were in place. The new recruits were also required to have physical and drug tests before that day.
Unfortunately, he had overlooked several issues, and he realised this when he was just about to finalize on the new recruitment paperwork. He discovered that not all candidates had complete applications, and even lacked transcripts on file. On further scrutiny, he discovered that the candidates had not yet been sent to the clinic for the mandatory testing. His concern heightens when he finds only three orientation manuals, all of which had several papers missing. He left his office to clear his mind, and on his way back; he was hit by more frustrations after he passed by the training room to check the condition. Joe had booked the room. He booked the venue for the whole month of June.
Background
The new candidates needed to have started working in July as planned, but only after the completion of the orientation process. Carl, the recruiter, was hit by an unexpected turn of events, which meant that the orientation and training would not happen as planned since nothing was ready. First of all, it was already June, and he was supposed to be ready before the 15th. He did not have a venue for the orientation; not only for that day, but also for the entire month. The candidates had also not gone through the necessary procedures. He was worried because he had already informed Monica, confidently, that everything would be ready before the planned day. Since this was his first assignment, he got frustrated because he felt that he had failed and disappointed the organization.
Key Problems
Carl was faced with several problems, and one of them was the lack of a venue. As if that was not enough, the new candidates were not yet tested. He was required to have ensured that all candidates provided complete documentation before the orientation, but that had not taken place. The other problem was that the material needed to facilitate the training was not ready.
Carl had not been accurate and focussed on the important details required for a successful assignment. He probably assumed that he had adequate time to prepare for the orientation, and it was the reason he did not bother to check the files as soon as Monica asked him about his progress. Had he done so on that day, he would have noticed all the loopholes and take the necessary steps to rectify them before the due date. Poor planning was also a major issue in this scenario. He made the assumption that he would have a venue for the event, and that is why he did not follow up on the venue until it was too late.
Inadequate planning and absence of attention to detail often lead to severe consequences for an employee and the entire organization. It is clear that all these diagnosed problems came to light almost too late. Consequently, they will hinder the orientation event. That means that the new recruits will not start working in July as planned. Carl is also at risk of losing his job for lack of commitment, evident from the way he conducted this assignment. However, being his first assignment, he may still retain his job and win the trust of his employer and supervisor if he acts quickly to amend the situation.
In Human Resource management, it is normal to encounter this kind of situation that Carl faced. If he decides that he has failed, and he cannot do anything to salvage the situation, he may opt to step down. That would mean that he has given up, and he does not think that there is any way to save the day. Stepping down would be a good option because he will avoid dealing with the pressure. It is however a bad decision, because the organization had entrusted the assignment to him, believing that he would deliver, and he piloted it until
the last minute without involving anyone else. It would be considered dishonourable for him to do so as it would disorient so many things in the organization.
Resignation, as we have seen, is not a good idea, and therefore Carl would need another alternative. With no venue to host the orientation and the necessary tools required for the training, he is not fully prepared for the event. He may request for more time to do the final touches as he waits for Joe’s seminar to end so that he can secure a venue. It is a better alternative than resigning because he will be able to finish his assignment despite being late. That would boost his work records and also prove his credibility. Postponement of the orientation, however, would distort the organization’s plans, because it would mean that the new candidates would not be able to begin working until August.
Proposed solution
A new alternative would be working with a little time left and find an alternative venue for the orientation. A number of the new candidates are manageable in terms of getting a venue that would fit them all. I believe that there are plenty of rooms that can be modified to be a training room. Once he identified a venue, it would be wise to communicate to all the candidates to ensure that they all complete their documentation and get the drug test done.
Documentation and the testing are processes that would take few hours to complete and, therefore, in a day all the loopholes would not exist. After solving the two issues, Carl would utilize the remaining time to gather all materials required for the training. He would find the missing pages on the manuals and make adequate copies. He should ensure that he is ready for the orientation event by going through everything that is necessary and ensuring that everything is in place.
That is the best alternative as the organizational plans would continue as planned and there would not be any liabilities such as creation of distrust between Carl, his supervisor and the entire organization.
Recommendations
The case study, upon analysis, provides us with the conclusion that all these problems would have been avoided by drafting a proper plan. Carl, as a recruiter, should have drawn a plan that he would use from the time he was recruiting all through to the orientation day. In order for any activity to succeed, assessment of factors that need carefully planned out considerations is necessary. A well laid out plan for a specific project functions as a guide for the entire course. Had he drawn a plan for this project, Carl would not have missed out on the details regarding incomplete applications, delayed drug tests or even the booking of the training room.
Procrastination is a vice that requires avoiding at all costs. Carl thought that he had enough time to prepare for the orientation, and he, therefore, did not bother to follow up on the aspects that needed attention, until it was almost too late. Time management is an important aspect in planning. He should have given every task a time limit and be keen to ensure that before the stipulated time lapses, the task gets accomplished. For instance, he should have communicated with the candidates and given them a time frame to submit all the required documents and have a drug test done.
In planning, one needs to be very keen in scrutinizing every aspect of the project. Maintaining a focus on a task ensures that everything works out as expected and eliminates chances of incurring unbudgeted costs and avoiding unnecessary pressure.
In conclusion, I would recommend that we all learn from our flaws. They serve as an experience and guide us in avoiding similar situations. Carl has only been in employment for six months, and this was his first major assignment. The mistakes that he has done in this case should not happen in his next assignment.
The list of changes
First review (Ann Lee)
• I changed the word realisation to realization
• I changed some sentences from the present test to past test e.g.” being his first assignment; he gets frustrated because he feels that he has failed and disappointed the organization”. To “Since this was his first assignment, Carl was frustrated because he felt that he had failed and disappointed the organization.”
• I did not make changes on the recommendation of stepping down since the option was viable to Carl. If a person cannot perform well as expected he/she has the option of stepping down and gives the chance to someone who can perform.
• I changed some part the essay from present to past test. However, some parts cannot be changed from the present to past since they are an ongoing process and facts. For example, “In planning, one needs to be very keen in scrutinizing every aspect of the project. Maintaining a focus on a task ensures that everything works out as expected and eliminates chances of incurring unbudgeted costs and avoiding unnecessary pressure”.
Second review (Gaby Wright)
• On my thesis, I talked on the planning aspect of Carl. Thus, there was no need to talk about time management since it would divert the attention from the topic (Carl).
• I have a conclusion on the essay that emphasize on learning from our mistakes and avoid these mistakes in the future. The main theme of the essay is learning our mistakes and making effort of avoiding the same mistakes in the future.
