Research Korner: Customer Care Examples

Assessment of Customer Satisfaction in Governmental Organization

Customer Satisfaction in Governmental Organization   In every part of America, taxpayers are giving their satisfaction rating to the government employees along with their services rendered to the people.   This kind of survey enables the US government to monitor which part of the federal government is not doing its job and responsibilities to the public.   It also reveals how the employees in the federal government treat their customers or public based on the satisfaction level of the public.  In this regards, there have been 30 federal agencies that serve more than 90 percent of the American people --   they will be randomly surveyed to determine levels of satisfaction with the services they receive from these government agencies. This customer satisfaction policy   has been started in the implementation of Executive Order 12862 in 1993, which instructed federal agencies to establish customer service standards, report on their customer service activities, and develop customer service standards. Putting people first means ensuring the federal sector provides the highest quality service possible to the American people. In moving the government-wide survey initiative from the drawing board to actual contact with taxpayers is a significant achievement.  Moreover, the  Federal Advisory Committee for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction, which composed of industry, academic, consumer groups, and government agency leaders, oversees the survey. Aside from that, the committee is focusing on the best methods for institutionalizing a customer service culture in the federal government, the committee works with the High Impact Agencies to target catalytic changes necessary to improve the services provided to the American public. Other initiatives will be done in order to identify and to share the best practices for improving and delivering customer service among federal employees. Improving customer service is an essential ingredient to promote a high level of trust among the public towards government employees. (http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/announc/survey.html) Correspondingly, the federal government has also established a customer focus, expectations and loyalty program that are designed to address all public’s concerns and complaints regarding government customer service or products.   In this center, the customers are being accommodated by the officer on duty, and see to it what the most immediate response is to be initiated.   Next,   any government organization must see to it that they encourage their customers to voice out or express their complaints to the concerned agencies or employee, in order to improve the quality  customer service of they offer to the public.  Similarly, this is also an effective way to ensure that the government organization will find ways to develop an customer serviced enhance their products and services.   There is correspondence, on bills, and in the telephone directory. Some offer discount coupons to encourage customer feedback. Many publish information on how they can be contacted in more than one language. They publish 1-800 and other numbers for the company where consumers are most likely to see.  Companies also market their complaint handling systems in conferences , meetings,  annual reports, newspapers, association circulars, videos, audio tapes, letters, press releases, speeches, training sessions and thru email.  Accordingly, there are government companies that really go out of their way just to please the customers.   A good example of this public firm is the insurance company with an excellent staff.    The insurance staff can greatly deal with the needs of grieving spouses.  Majority of the government  companies in the United States have been given  their leading employees  authority  to  provide any  cash incentive or in-kind award to the customers who have complaints with the products, coupon or even in  monetary issues, this is being done just to resolve  any complaint from the customer.  Relatively, the U.S. Postal Service is giving $ 20 in stamps whenever it is needed for the customer’s concern and satisfaction.  In the same token,  the government agencies are distributing supplement surveys among American people who complain on the routine. These government organizations  are giving surveys of a people who have complain with the routine and mostly extensive data collection tools.  By this, the  government personnel  will understand the level of satisfaction with  the existing customers. (http://www.customerexpressions.com/cex/cexweb.nsf/(GetPages)/fb0e21c03e1a1fbb85257011006e6396) The government –company partners focus on clear customer target groups. One company that serves a wide variety of customers decided to focus on its high-volume business customers. Three months after a high-volume business customer has complained, the company follows up to find out whether they are still using their services and, if not, the reasons for dissatisfaction. In addition, the company routinely solicits feedback before, during, and after service. It conducts focus groups and has established a Customer Advisory Council to drive decisions related to this key target group.  All these organizations   try to anticipate the needs and problems about a product or service.  In the same time, the government organizations has been educating their customers. (http://www.customerexpressions.com/cex/cexweb.nsf/(GetPages)/fb0e21c03e1a1fbb85257011006e6396)   References: (http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/announc/survey.html) (http://www.customerexpressions.com/cex/cexweb.nsf/(GetPages)/fb0e21c03e1a1fbb85257011006e6396) (http://www.customerexpressions.com/cex/cexweb.nsf/(GetPages)/fb0e21c03e1a1fbb85257011006e6396)

Assessment of Customer Satisfaction in Governmental Organization

Customer Satisfaction in Governmental Organization In every part of America, taxpayers are giving their satisfaction rating to the ...

Final Proposal_An action plan of Customer Retention Using the distinctive Strategies of IT/IS; A Case Study of Exploration and Production in Oil & Gas Industry

PROJECT PROPOSAL   Student name:                                                                                         Student No:         Email Address:                                                                           Award Name:  MSc in Technology Management   Site Name:      Apiit Malaysia   Title of project:        An action plan of Customer Retention Using the distinctive Strategies of      IT/IS; A Case Study of Exploration and Production in Oil & Gas Industry   Proposed Supervisor:   Please record which modules your topic is related to: Marketing (MKT). E-marketing         Introduction Today the most important business sector in the world is the oil & Gas industry which offers a benefit for every individual, group of people and government sector, given the high commodity prices and increasing the profit of economic. the dependency on oil and gas products, the every day materials and resources from oil and gas are evident in all aspect of our daily lives (University of Aberdeen, 2006) and by exploration and production of oil and gas in order to impact upon many areas of the workforce it will help to sustain the oil and gas industry because without oil and gas exploration and production the world would literally grind to a halt (University of Aberdeen, 2006). Recent rises in petroleum prices have spurred many new exploration activities. Spending on world wide exploration and production is estimated to have risen 30 percent in 2006 by US$ 268 billion (Upstream, 2007). For example crude oil and petroleum products are widely traded and effectively have a single price after allowing for transportation costs and quality differences in more clarification in 1960 would have been worth 6.6 times more in 2005 this mean that the average oil price of $1.9 a barrel in 1960 is equivalent to $ 12.59 a barrel when expressed in 2005 U.S. dollars (World bank, 2007). The reason behind successful oil & gas companies and becoming world wide business is because the ability to provide a clear approach of products, services, advance technology and successful customer feedback which can offer a higher profit for industry and providing a close-loop process for gathering customer feedback to continuous improve business practice (Parasuraman et al, 1985). Customers in Oil & Gas industry should be seen as on-going opportunity, to better understand the rational behind this theory and to face the challenge of building customer loyalty, Hunter (2007) identified five types of customer such as: loyal customers, discount customers, impulse customers, need-based customers, and wandering customers. Ahmad & Buttle (2002) stated that the organization should focus on existing customers because those are the once who can not only provide feedback about products and services, but also work together with suppliers to add-value to a particular service by improving the process. Through successful customer care or creating an effective customer focus, Oil & Gas industry will be able to provide an opportunity to increase the customer satisfaction/retention, increasing the sales and revenue and creating value for Oil & Gas industry shareholder (Greenberg, 2004). Focusing and identifying on customers which is the most important factor in Oil & Gas industry because through it Oil & Gas industry will be able to provide a successful program of customer retention plan and ability to retain its customers and satisfy them.   Project background According to Eriksoon & Lofmarck Vaghult (2000) customer retention is central to the development of business relationships, is specific to the context of each firm, and this is rarely recognized in models for customer retention. Customer retention is important to most companies because the cost of acquiring a new customer is far greater than the cost of maintaining a relationship with a current customer (Ro King, 2005) which have a significant advantages in the form of lower prepayments, increased revenue, improved pricing on securitizations, customer retention has been shown to be a primary goal in firms that practice relationship marketing (Gronroos 1991, Coviello et al, 2002) which mean satisfied and properly served customers are more likely to return to an organization than are dissatisfied customers who could choose simply to go elsewhere (Ovenden, 1995). The main challenge faced by the mortgage industry  is the continued price sensitivity of their consumers as  a result the main objectives for many companies is to employ customer retention and development programs that will serve to reduce this price sensitivity and therefore reduce the flight risk of customers (Davis et al, 2007). In additional customer retention programs allow companies to collect data about their customers, this data can be used to better understand target market, and communicate with customers or to customize future interactions with customers and also can be a relatively inexpensive means of making customers feel special, increase their purchases and recommend prospects (Ro King, 2007). However, successful implementation of customer retention has to be carefully planned, executed, maintained, and measured it also need to be accompanied by customer service, product development, and product deliver strategies that aligned with the targeted customer base (Davis et al, 2007). Globally the major players in the petroleum industry are Exxon and Shell group, who account for roughly 20% of the world’s production (AL-Ghamdi & Suhail, 2006) and according to Passemard & Kleiner (2000) that the competitiveness of some firms arises from macro economic phenomena directed by exchange rate, deficit of the national budget or interest rate.   The major competitors of oil and gas industry had a good leadership, competent project team, willingness of management to take risk and make changes, technology solution and successful implementation of energy management program will lead the oil and gas industry to be more competitors and providing a successful products and services to its customers (Davis, HA. & Chan, EKS., 2001), Petrochemical industry of Saudi Arabia  can be an example of competition in petroleum industries sector which is primarily a petroleum economy with oil revenue representing 90-95% total Saudi export earnings 70-80% of state revenue and around 40% of countries gross domestic product (GDP) (AL-Ghamdi & Suhail, 2006). Besides the competitive challenges, the Saudi Petrochemical industry faces a number of other challenges. Some of the significant ones relate to a high dependence on a skilled expatriate work-force, high costs of technology transfer, low levels of productivity of the Saudi workforce due to a lack of motivation to work, and the emergence of regional competitors (AL-Ghamdi & Suhail, 2006), The key strength of Saudi petroleum industry lies in the low-cost of feed-stocks as well as cost of utilities which make the average variable cost lower than of its competitors (AL-Ghamdi & Suhail, 2006). Ahmad et al (2001) identify the following six economic benefits of retaining customers such as: savings on customers’ acquisitions, a guarantee of base profits, growth in per-customer revenue, reduction in relative operation costs, free of charge referrals of new customers from existing customers and finally price premiums as existing customers do not usually wait for promotions or price reductions before deciding to purchase. Through customer retention plan Oil & Gas industry can achieve its planning by colleting data and information about its customers which can enhance the Oil & Gas industry to enhance its operation and enhance its position in marketplace. Previous research into customer retention has focused on the opinion that retaining customers are easier to work with and that a lot of vital feedback can be gained from these customers (Isaksoon & Suljanovic, 2007) and potential advantages of pursuing strategies for satisfying or retaining customers rather than on the concepts themselves (Eriksson, Lofmarck Vaghult, 2000) which will lead the Oil & Gas industry to gain many advantages such as:: employee retention and satisfaction (Reichheld, 1995) providing a long-term relationship strategy between Oil & Gas industry, opportunities for new business, increasing the sales and creating value  for Oil & Gas industry’s shareholder (Greenberg, 2004). Customer retention can be an important factor in Oil & Gas industry because through customer retention, Oil & Gas industry can increase the opportunities to industry and its customers and ability to increase the customers’ profitability in higher level of performance.   Project Aims The aims of this project are to provide a successful action plan of customer retention plan using the distinctive strategies of IT/IS in Oil & Gas industry, also exploring how individuals and groups in Oil & Gas able to offer a clear structure and ability to provide higher-level of customer retention plan this will lead to an understanding of how the benefits of customer retention plan can drive Oil & Gas industry to be more competitive and to retain its customers.     Project objectives   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To examine difference customer care program in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To examine the importance of customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To examine the improvement of customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To examine the distinctive strategies of IT/IS that enables Oil & Gas industry measure the customer behavior and attitude.</li> </ul>       Research program   Stage-1 (Duration one month) <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Gather an appropriate materials and resources in Oil & Gas industry. This would include journals, articles, and academic research.  </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Analyzing the case studies such as: Microsoft, BMW, Shell Company and Petronas Company.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Select the customer retention area in case studies </li> </ul>     Stage-2 (Duration one month) <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Identifying a development program such as: customer loyalty program, customer retention program and customer satisfaction program.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To identify a development program in order to increase customer loyalty and decrease turnover in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To understand first hand knowledge from specific numbers of customers from the Oil & Gas industry based in overseas industry.</li> </ul>   Stage-3(Duration two month) <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Identify the most profitable customer and customer segment.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Exploring how individuals and groups serving the concepts of e-customer retention.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Understanding the process of using the IT/IS strategies in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Exploring how individuals and groups serving the concepts of e-customer retention.</li> </ul>   Stage-4(Duration two month) <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Developing the frame work of customer retention plan in Oil & Gas industry through stage-1 and stage-2.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Evaluating the concepts of e-customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Testing the frame work of e-customer retention plan from the interview in Oil & Gas industry.</li> </ul>     Stage-5(Duration one week) <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Finish documentation.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Printing document.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Submitting documents.</li> </ul>   Deliverables   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Deliver a successful frame work of customer retention plan in order to retain customers, and to establish new information and control system.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To deliver a difference customer care program for various industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To analyzing the implementation of customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To evaluating the need of customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> To evaluating the need of IT/IS in customer retention in Oil & Gas industry.</li> </ul>     Commercial/industrial Collaboration   No applicable       Resources   To offer successful project of customer retention plan in Oil & Gas industry the following resource are required: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Oil & Gas company experts.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Experts of customer service.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Marketing experts.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Public and APIIT library.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify"> Online journals </li> </ul>       The list of references   Ahmad & Buttle 2002, Customer retention management: a reflection of theory and practice, [online], Sydney, Australia, Available from http://emeraldinsight.com/0263-4503.htm, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   AL-Ghamdi & Sohail 2006, Sustaining Competitive advantage in the global petrochemical industry: a Saudi Arabian perspective, International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 3(1/2), pp. 4-17.   Ahmad et al, 2001, Customer retention: a potentially potent marketing management strategy, Journal of Strategic Marketing, No. 9, pp. 29-45.   Coviello et al 2002, How firms relate to their markets: an empirical examination of contemporary marketing practices, Journal of Marketing, [online], 66(3), Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Davis, H.A. & Chan, EKS. 2001, Facilities, [online], 19(7/8), Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Davies et al 2007, Customer Retention in the consumer Finance Industry, [online], Available from http://www.pwc.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Eriksson, K. & Vaghult, AL. 2000, Customer Retention, Purchasing Behavior and Relationship Substance in Professional Services, Industrial Marketing Management,[online], 29(4), pp. 362-372, Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Gronroos, C., 1991, The Marketing Strategy Continuum: toward a marketing concept for the 1990s, Management Decision, [online], 29(1), Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Greenberg, P. 2004, CRM at the speed of light: Customer Relationship Management, Essential Customer Strategies for the 21st Century, 3rd ed, McGraw-Hill, United States of America   Hunter 200, The 5 Types of Customer: Increase Your Loyal Customer to Increase Your Sales, [online], Canada, The New York Times Company, Available from http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/customerservice/a/customertypesmh.htm, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Isaksson, K. & Suljanovic, M. 2001, Customer Retention in Service Firms: Three case studies of companies in the Transport-Logistic Industry, [online], Lulea University of Technology, Department of Business Administration and Social, Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Ovenden, A. 1995, Keep your customers happy and your competition will slowly fade away, The TQM magazine, [online], 7(1), pp. 46-49, Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com. [Accessed 2 December 2007]. Parasuraman et al 1985, a conceptual Model of service quality and its implication for future research, Journal of Marketing, [online], Vol 49, PP. 41-56, Available from http://www.emeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Passemard, D. & kleiner, B.H. 2000, Competitive advantage in global industries, Management Research News, 23(7/8), pp. 111-117.   Reichheld, FF. 1995, Loyalty and the renaissance of marketing, Marketing Management, 2(4), pp. 10-21, Available from http://www.ermeraldinsight.com, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Ro King 2004, Customer Retention Programs, [online], New York, The Alexander Group, Available from http://www.saleslobby.com/Mag/0601/FERK.asp, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   University of Aberdeen 2006, Overview of the North Sea Oil and Gas Industry: A key business training event for non-specialists, [online], UK, Available from http://www.abdn.ac.uk/northseaoverview/intor.shtml, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   Upstream 2007, E& P players plan New York firework, [online], Available from http://siteresoruces.worldbank.org/INTOGMC/Resources/cambodia_oil_gas_newsletter_1, [Accessed 2 December 2007].   World bank 2007, Introduction to Oil and Gas, [online], Available from http://siteresoruces.worldbank.org/INTOGMC/Resources/cambodia_oil_gas_newsletter_1, [Accessed 2 December 2007].     Project plan: (refer to appendix for project plan).

Final Proposal_An action plan of Customer Retention Using the distinctive Strategies of IT/IS; A Case Study of Exploration and Production in Oil & Gas Industry

PROJECT PROPOSAL Student name: Student N...

Proposed Procedure for Recruitment and Selection of Checkout Operators: Case Study of Derby Retail Store, Inc.

Proposed Procedure for Recruitment and Selection of Checkout Operators Recruitment provides an impetus for the search for human resource personnel who will be effective, efficient and productive in their job specifications. The essence of effective selection lies in making predictions about the future job performance of applicants for a given position. But such predictions are difficult, partly because only a limited amount of information can be gathered in the selection process, and because important characteristics of job applicants are hard to measure accurately. Checkout Operators’ duties are mainly to ensure that they man the electronic tills: take cash and give change, use the credit card readers and take money off coupons. In addition to these duties, they have to help pack bags and generally be helpful to customers. However, these are the minimum expected of a checkout operator. Also in his/her job specification is the need to be customer oriented- this includes friendliness, helpfulness and patience in dealing with customers. The more difficult challenge is to deal with difficult customers who are demanding and sometimes irrational.   These issues coupled with the problems of finding employees who may not have problems regarding their discipline on their job, competency, absenteeism, and abusive behaviors may trigger the future problems with a checkout operator. Thus, as a member of the office personnel team, I deem it necessary that there be a recruitment and selection process that shall address the current and the future problems that we may encounter with regards to check out operators. This proposed recruitment and selection program for the Checkout Operators seeks to: (1) provide a comprehensive and specified job description for checkout operators as part of the personnel specification process; (2) provide a proposed recruitment process that will cover the selection criteria, interview process and the final selection; (3) present a recruitment advertisement and; (4) and a sample induction program for the new checkout operators.    Company Profile   Derby Retail Store, Inc. consists of a multi-department retailer, located primarily in medium-sized and larger communities. The Derby Retail Store aims to offer quality merchandise, services and value to meet customers' needs for home, family basics, casual apparel and seasonal products, along with a special emphasis on retail health, operating in-store pharmacies and optical centers. As of February 1, 2003, the Company had 8 retail stores operating in within the UK. It also serves smaller and more rural communities, offering a one-stop shopping format.   Job Description for the Checkout Operators (also cashier, cash register assistant) JOB DESCRIPTION Checkout operators count the total price of customers’ purchases. They take payment and give change. They may also pack customers’ bags. MAIN TASKS <ul type="square" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	greeting customers at 	the checkout counter</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	swiping goods across a 	scanning device to identify the prices, or in a less modern establishment, 	typing product codes into the cash register </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	weighing and pricing 	goods sold by weight</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	calculating the total 	price of a customer’s purchases</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	collecting payment and 	giving change </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	in some cases, packing a 	customer’s purchases </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	tallying up the cash in 	their till at the end of their shift </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	answering customers’ 	queries about products and prices</li> </ul> Personnel Specification We all agree that our goal is to recruit and hire the very best people to the company in providing the best customer care support. Our search and selection process for hiring checkout operator is supposed to lead to that outcome, and most of us believe we can identify the most qualified applicants from a pool of candidates. However, our belief that it is obvious who is the most qualified candidate ignores the subjective aspects of human judgment and decision making. The retail company is committed to equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees and consistent administration of policies and procedures. Accordingly, the department neither practices nor condones any form of discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status or disability.   Recruitment Advertising Recruitment can be a powerful vehicle in shifting from a seemingly old and outmoded culture to a new one. In the company for instance, the time wasted on wandering around instead of being productive necessitates action from the management. However, too often, recruitment officials underestimate the difficulty of recruiting competent people. Further, recruitment is a highly competitive enterprise (Barber, 1998; Gabert, 1994; Heneman, Judge, & Heneman, 2000). Stated another way, recruitment is a two-way decision-making process involving decisions made both by organizations selecting new employees and by job applicants pursuing open positions. Thus, the aid of a catchy recruitment advertisement is invaluable. Compared to Americans, UK employers emphasizes character more: it is not surprising to find personal attributes to appear in recruitment advertisements and that these convey meaningful insights into the organization and messages about the type of applicant wanted (Mathews and Redman, 1997). In today’s challenging recruitment advertising market, we are finding that the clients/prospective employment advertisers are focused on measuring the Return On Investment (ROI) of their advertising expense. The market is more competitive than ever before; as the economic pressures on advertising budgets that many service providers are competing for is smarter and more conservative than in decades. Identifying the needs of a customer and matching those needs to a solution is challenging.             The purpose of a recruitment advertisement is to: attract the attention of prospective applicants and motivate them to find out more about the advertised opportunity; market the company, the job (checkout operator and the opportunity being offered; provide enough information to define the desired attributes of candidates; secure a pool of suitably qualified applicants from which the most suitable person can be appointed.             Suitable Selection Tests and Interview format There are three basic components to Objective Pre-employment Interviewing: identifying, defining and quantifying information targets; the interpretation of applicant behavior during the interview; and interviewing techniques to encourage more accurate information, even when applicants perceive that accurate information will result in disqualification. Objective Pre-employment Interviewing first determines that each information target being considered for the interview is, in fact, a bona fide occupational qualification and/or essential job function. In identifying information targets to consider, employers sometimes fail to include the activities and behaviors that actually predict hiring failures. For any given industry or profession, historically, why have some employees been disciplined or fired? If the company would like to reduce these failures in the future, I propose that the recruitment and selection of employees be reevaluated to include a clearly specified task and responsibility profile for Checkout Operators including the additional tasks that may be required of them in cases where they are not called for by their work. The important point is to evaluate all of employees job specifications and relevant items -- not just on competency issues -- and be sure to cover the most likely possibilities, when there are multiple jobs at hand or when they are not doing anything. Once the information targets have been identified for possible inclusion in any given interview, we can conduct an objective pre-employment interviewing then catalogs the information targets into three groups: Category I can include the traditional skills, knowledge, abilities, and experiences the assessment has determined to be appropriate for the position being sought. Category II may cover the organization's interests and requirements, such as shift requirements, conflicts of interests, etc. Category III may address the various counterproductive activities, such as substance abuse, workplace violence, lack of integrity, etc., that historically have been problems for the jobs in question. No matter which interview format is being used (Recruitment, Background, Oral Board, etc.), I recommend to always start with the traditional, or Category I, targets. Applicants expect to be questioned about their employment, education and military histories, and, with few exceptions, questions regarding these targets are not considered sensitive by either the employer or the applicant. Obviously, if the applicant discloses that he/she does not meet the minimum qualifications regarding these topics, there is no legal or ethical reason to discuss the more sensitive Category II and III information targets. Do not confuse the consistency guideline that employers use to treat applicants equally -- without regard to gender, race, ethnic group, etc. -- with any mandate requiring employers to cover all of the exact same information targets. While "checklist interviewing" (asking all applicants exactly the same questions without regard to the applicants' backgrounds or answers) may be a fast, inexpensive way to teach newly designated interviewers -- and may even be essential to some subjective interviewing programs -- it is completely ineffective in dealing with applicant misrepresentation, a leading cause of hiring mistakes and unacceptable turnover. Induction Programme All new employees, should attend an induction at the Human Resource Office, on their first day. The employee must provide details and complete an employment declaration for taxation purposes before placement is effected onto the payroll. Other original documentation, such as an UK birth certificate, UK citizenship certificate or passport, evidence of qualifications, and a curriculum vitae, will also be required. The new employee will receive information about the company, conditions of employment, Occupational Health and Safety, Equity and other matters.   The Customer Care or delegate is responsible for the induction of a new staff member to the checkout operation. The first day would normally take the following format; 	 		 		 		a meeting with the 		supervisor to cover the duties and responsibilities of the position, and 		the performance and quality standards expected; 		 	 	 		 		 		introduction to the 		personal work space; 		 	 	 		 		 		a tour of the work 		unit and survival information; 		 	 	 		 		 		assignment of a 		mentor for instruction, questions etc. 		 	             Effective staff induction should be planned, scheduled over a period of time and meet the particular needs of both the individual and the company. It includes learning about the company and the interactions between the various areas, the acquiring of skills, experience and knowledge through learning, and the promotion of commitment to the duties of the position of checkout operator.   Conclusion In a customer-oriented industry, customer satisfaction aside from the prices of goods, takes the primacy in retail stores. As such, the efficiency of the personnel shall represent the company in general; it shall also be the bulwark of customer service. Thus, Derby Retail Store shall take measures in selecting the personnel particularly the checkout operators of the store. This process entails a structured and planned process: from the specification of job descriptions, the recruitment advertisement, the interview process and the induction of the employees on the organization. It is important to note that in this process, the organization must present an efficient and productive organization in order for the employees to convey such image to the consumers.   Recommendations Aside from having a planned and structured recruitment process, I recommend that a training be conducted upon the induction of the newly hired applicants. In this way, there will be a minimization of errors on the job. Furthermore, it shall give the employees an opportunity to enhance their skills and get used to their job and the organization.   References   Barber, A. E. (1998). Recruiting employees: Individual and organizational perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.   Gabert, G. (1994). Human resource management in the community college. In G. A. Baker III (Ed.), A handbook on the community college in America (pp. 377-385). Westport, CT: Greenwood.   Heneman, H. G., III, Judge, T. A., & Heneman, R. L. (2000). Staffing organizations (3rd ed.). Middleton, WI: Mendota House.   Mathews, B. and Redman, T. (1997) What do recruiters want in a public sector manager? Public Personnel Management, Vol. 26.   Thomas, J. (1998) Job aspiration and ethnic minority unemployment in the UK: is there a connection? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 24.     Appendix 1. Job Description for Checkout Operators   CHECKOUT OPERATORS AND CASHIERS operate cash registers and receive payment for goods purchased by customers or receive and bank takings and make payments. Skill Level: The entry requirement for this unit group is completion of compulsory secondary school education or higher qualification. Tasks Include: receiving goods selected by customers, registering and totaling prices on cash register processing payments for goods by cash, cheques, gift vouchers, credit or debit cards and other non-cash forms of payment issuing sales dockets and giving change processing mail and other payment types and arranging banking counting and recording money received and balancing against register sales records recording and balancing petty cash disbursements   Appendix 2. A Personnel Specification   PREFERRED PERSONAL TRAITS AND SKILLS Checkout operators should be friendly, polite and quick with dealing with customers. They need to have some basic cash-handling and mathematical skills. Being observant helps, as products may sometimes be priced wrongly or dishonest customers may have switched the price tags of goods. Checkout operators also need to be honest as they deal with large amounts of cash daily. A smart appearance and the ability to stand for long hours are important. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED Educational attainment at least high school graduate, must be 18 years old and above, must hold a PMR certificate, no previous criminal record. Appendix 3: Advertising the Position Here is the proposed budget plan for the advertisement: For two consecutive Sundays: A 1/8 page advertisement on Sunday Herald and Sunday Times A one-week advertisement on Herald and Time: i/8 page each (seven times) Costing: 7,500 pounds Following is a sample letter that can be used to advertise a checkout operator opening: Date: November 11, 2003 TO: Newspapers, Magazines and Dailies FROM: Derby Retailer Store Human Resource Personnel Officer Please place the following ad in your paper __________ (dates). Any questions can be answered by ___________(Human Resource Personnel Officer), _______________ Derby Retailer Store, ___________ (phone number). Please bill the advertisement to the Finance Department. CHECKOUT PERSONNEL ASSISTANT: 37 hours per week (must be willing to work on weekends with pay). Duties: operate cash registers and receive payment for goods purchased by customers or receive, bank takings and make payments, and receiving goods selected by customers, registering and totaling prices on cash register processing payments for goods by cash, cheques, gift vouchers, credit or debit cards. Minimum qualifications: High school graduate, preferably with two year's experience as a checkout operator and/or training. Salary: 5.25 pounds/hour. Apply until ______ (date) at _______________ Derby Retailer Store.  Compliance with the legal requirements (UK discrimination laws)                Job discrimination laws were enacted in the UK precisely because of the unemployment level of minorities and disabled. For instance, Thomas (1998) noted that the excess ethnic minority unemployment in the UK can be explained by minorities having relatively inflated job aspirations, making them more likely to eschew jobs that white people find acceptable. There is an over riding requirement for retailers like us to comply with the discrimination laws in UK regarding the employment of minorities and the disabled. Thus, there will be no discriminatory clause in the recruitment and the selection of personnel in any way be it implied or otherwise. We conform to the anti-discrimination laws in UK pertaining to the employment of minorities, the disabled, women and several others. Furthermore, we subscribe to the fairness of the selection and contends that the applicants will be employed on the basis of their competency and their suitability for the job. This commitment can be manifested in the job advertisements for check-out operators and in the selection criteria for hiring. Furthermore, this anti-discrimination clause is also an evidence of the company’s corporate social responsibility in helping and developing the workforce in UK regardless of certain demographic variables other than those concerned with their competencies.   Evaluation of the Procedure Assessing outcomes of the recruitment is critical to systematic improvement of recruitment effectiveness in the company. This shall benefit the company in three ways: (1) it can assess the strengths and weaknesses of the recruitment process for future improvements; (2) it can provide an impetus for action in terms of cost measurement in recruitment (cost analysis and the best measure of lowering the cost of the recruitment process and; (3) in determining the productivity of the newly hired checkout operators. For organizations to pursue systematic, sustained improvement in recruitment effectiveness, a new approach to the assessment of recruitment outcomes is necessary. I believe a practical approach to recruitment evaluation can be achieved (a) by isolating and evaluating attraction outcomes, (b) by directly assessing the job performance potential of each applicant, and then (c) applying utility analysis methods to convert differences in applicants' job performance potential to a dollar metric. This final step produces an estimate of the benefits of alternative attraction activities that can be compared to their costs.   Assessing Attraction Outcomes: A Step-by-Step Overview Step 1. Identify positions to assess. Description: Organizations may choose not to develop scores to evaluate recruitment outcomes for all positions. Those positions where assessment of attraction outcomes is likely to be of greatest value are jobs that generate several new hires and attract large numbers of applicants.   Step 2. Identify current screening mechanism and determine current assessment properties. Description: Organizations need to identify the current selection mechanism. In some organizations, screening devices are not formalized. In these cases, efforts should be made to identify the true character of the screening device as it currently exists.   Step 3. Determine strategy for adapting current screening device to produce scores for each applicant and adapt changes. Description: Depending on what screening device is currently used, the amount of deviation between current practices and the development of scores for each applicant with the desired properties will vary. Organizations need to decide how far they want to go toward developing measures that yield scores with optimal properties. In most instances, it is likely to be more effective for organizations to develop measures over a series of iterations aimed at working toward desired score properties. Doing so is likely to minimize costs.   Step 4. Assess attraction outcomes. Description: Assess each applicant using the device developed in Step 3. Scores for all applicants in the applicant pool in batch recruiting should be evaluated. In continuous recruiting, all applicants, including those that have left the pool by withdrawing themselves from consideration or because they were hired, during the appropriate time period (defined by the organization) should be included. Data from the analysis of applicant flows for each position should be archived in order to facilitate comparisons across recruiting events.   Step 5. Match recruitment activities to recruitment phases and estimate recruitment costs. Description: In order to evaluate the cost effectiveness of various recruitment practices, recruitment costs must be identified and mapped to the appropriate phase of recruitment (i.e., attraction, status maintenance, gaining job acceptance). Estimate costs of attraction by identifying all activities primarily designed to influence the attraction of applicants to this position, not general recruitment costs. The cost of general recruitment activities--those not attributable to a specific position--could be evaluated against all positions that are influenced by those activities.

Proposed Procedure for Recruitment and Selection of Checkout Operators: Case Study of Derby Retail Store, Inc.

Proposed Procedure for Recruitment and Selection of Checkout Operators Recruitment provides an impetus for the search for human resource ...