- Why might organizations decide to allocate more resources toward marketing or product design rather than using those same resources to do a really good job in employee recruitment and selection?
Typically, it’s easier for people to see the direct correlation between marketing and product design efforts and costs because there is a tangible outcome such as a product or advertisement. When it comes to employee recruitment and selection, there is a lot of intangible work that goes into the development of the job posting, interviews and selection processes so unless you’re involved in that process you don’t necessarily “see” it. When it comes to looking at an advertisement or product, people can look at it and instantly form an opinion on the effectiveness it whereas you can’t really look at a human and instantly gauge their work ethic and skills.
- What are the potential strengths and weaknesses of an organization’s decision to not prioritize recruitment and selection in favor of a focus on other aspects of the business?
Strengths that a company may have by prioritizing their focus on other areas of the business such as innovation and marketing provide greater allocation resources for other areas in the company that can create a competitive advantage.
By placing a greater emphasis in areas such as innovation, this could help them gain a competitive advantage by offering more innovative products than their competitors.
Marketing plays a critical role in how consumers connect with a brand. By placing a greater focus on advertising, this could allow a company to better connect with consumers over their competitors.
One weakness of not prioritizing recruitment and selection is that the quality of work will greatly suffer. Regardless of how many resources are poured into other areas of the business, if you don’t have quality people working in those functions the work results will likely be sub par.
Another weakness is that company culture will likely suffer. If the people being hired have poor attitudes and lack work ethic, the culture will not be one in which people feel they can thrive. Sometimes an organization’s culture can be one aspect of their competitive advantage.
A tangible outcome is way easier to see than a good selection process. Customers need to see a product and need to want a product in order for a company to succeed. A company could have the best hiring process in the world, and hire only the best candidates for the job. But, they risk spending too much money on this process, and not enough on product development and advertising. I really like where you say people can form an opinion on a product instantly. This is very true. When it comes to a service, people can also form an opinion on customer service almost instantly. The customer service may be bad, but if the service they are providing is good, this is almost always more important. I also agree that companies can gain a competitive advantage through marketing and product development. By creating a competitive advantage, they almost guarantee themselves more money and a successful couple of years. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Kayla,
I completely agree with your points. It is easier for people to support allocating resources towards what they see as a tangible outcome such as marketing increasing sales. Like you said though, there are definite pitfalls to the company doing so. While their sales may increase in the short term, if they become known for terrible service or if their culture suffers, they may not be able to sustain that growth.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Courtney