Question

A VP of HR for a growing 1,500-employee high tech firm has received feedback regarding the lack of effectiveness of the HR team. The internal customers have not been pleased with the level of service and support that is being provided by HR.

One of the biggest challenges cited is the recruiting process-specifically, opening a new requisition. The business leader is first required to contact a recruiter to open a requisition and then to contact the compensation and benefits team to determine the pay level for the role. Business leaders may have to contact a different recruiter each time a requisition must be opened. If the recruiter is unfamiliar with the business unit and the nuances of the culture as well as common skill sets, the business leader has to spend additional time to ensure that the recruiter has all the information needed. As a result, some business leaders have asked for one point of contact in HR for all recruiting needs.
Given the feedback and the request for one point of contact, which action is best for the VP of HR to take?

A. Ask the recruiting team what their issues have been and share the information with the business leaders to begin a discussion.
B. Add a point of contact for each business leader and have this person serve as a relationship manager for the team.
C. Wait to see what the recruiting results are over the next 12 months and continue to monitor the recruiting work flow.
D. Coordinate in-person discussions with business leaders to better understand their experience and expectations.

Answer 1

The most effective action for the VP of HR is to create a single point of contact for each business leader to serve as a relationship manager, improving communication within the recruiting process. To ensure this solution meets the business leaders' needs, in-person discussions should be coordinated to understand their experiences and expectations.

The VP of HR for a growing high-tech firm with 1,500 employees is facing challenges with the HR team's effectiveness, particularly in the recruiting process. The feedback from business leaders points to a lack of consistent and efficient communication, as they currently must contact multiple team members for different aspects of the hiring process. One suggestion from the business leaders is to create a single point of contact for all recruiting needs, which would streamline the communication and make the process more coherent and easier to navigate.

Considering the various courses of action the VP could take, action B, adding a point of contact for each business leader to serve as a relationship manager, seems most effective. This approach directly addresses the feedback from the business leaders. It assumes a customer-centric approach, prioritizing simplification of the hiring process and improvement in HR services. However, before implementation, it could be beneficial to follow through with action D, coordinating in-person discussions with business leaders

. This could further solidify the understanding of their expectations and preferences, ensuring the chosen solution is well-informed. While action A (asking the recruiting team for their issues) and action C (waiting 12 months) may provide insights, they are less proactive and less likely to result in the immediate improvements that the business leaders are seeking.