A Bad Hiring Decision Creates a Problem

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The Wrong Person– Case Study Analysis
Summary
Mike, the head of sales operations for Freebird.com was pressured by the CEO to hire a sales marketing person, and after calling several candidates, he lands on Alice who impresses him with her academic qualifications from a reputable design college and five years marketing experience. After joining the firm, Alice exhibits poor performance, and it turns out that she had no experience in using spreadsheets and Salesforce and doing market research.
Analysis
In the case study, it can be viewed that Mike did not have enough time to conduct the recruitment process. Consequently, he instructed one of his interns to supply him with the names of applicants. Because of the time constraints and the pressure from the CEO, he did not plan appropriately for the selection interview process. Even after landing on Alice, Mike only concentrated on company policies and values and Alice’s educational background. Ideally, while conducting interviews, recruiters should devise mechanisms to test whether an applicant has critical job skills necessary for the position. As such, Mike failed to formulate a clear picture of job requirements and the performance desired for the position, making him hire Alice, who did not have skills in using excel spreadsheets and Salesforce and conducting market research. An interview scorecard is a vital tool that can be used by interviewers to score the skills of an applicant against specified criteria.

However, this was not used by Mike, and it only became imminent to him that Alice did not have the necessary skills when she frequently delayed in executing her duties.
Recommendations
Mike should organize for a coaching session to show Alice how to use spreadsheets and Salesforce and conduct market research. Mike can also hire a professional to train Alice on how to use excel and Salesforce through on-the-job training. However, Alice’s ability to grasp new concepts during the training session will solely depend on her willingness and commitment to learning. As such, Mike can liaise with other sales marketing team members to determine whether they can help Alice by showing her how to use spreadsheets and Salesforce. The case of Alice should also serve as a lesson to Mike so that in the next recruitment, he should develop an appropriate recruitment plan to enable him to evaluate whether applicants have vital skills required for particular posts.
Implications
Training or coaching Alice will have both long-term and short-term consequences for the business. In the short term, the training process may be expensive as the organization will have to spend on securing the services of a qualified professional. Also coaching may be time-consuming as Mike will have to spend more time with Alice trying to show her how to handle Salesforce and Spreadsheets instead of concentrating on the core objectives of the firm. However, in the long-run, Alice may become more proficient and efficient in handling her duties, reducing cases of errors, time wastage, and conflicts. By training Alice, the organization may also identify some knowledge gaps among employees and make it as a policy to offer regular on-the-job training programs to employees.