NU 12 - by KC Professionalism – new work, methods, practices

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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Crisostomo, Kathleen Lizette C.
Sent: Sunday, 10 June 2012, 1:43
Subject: NU 12 - Professionalism – new work, methods, practices

Hi Sir,

Here is my 10th NU 12 Blog - Professionalism / New Methods (service to manufacturing = is it possible?)

Thank you!

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Crisostomo, Kathleen Lizette C.

ENTREP

NU 12: Professionalism – new work, methods, practices

There's a Mc Donald's branch in the ground floor of our office building.  Because it is located along Ayala Avenue, the place is jam-packed for certain hours within the day.  My colleague who was in front of the line had just finished giving her order and was already preparing her payment when the store manager already asked for my order.  Both my colleague and I were still not finished paying and have not received our orders when the manager again asked the person behind me for her order.  The thing is, we were the only 3 customers in Mc Donald's.  There was no need to rush but the manager made sure there was no down time.

I thought of applying this concept in my workplace: would it be effective to change the operations of a service company to that of a manufacturing company?

My field, recruitment, is service-oriented industry.  Even if we are measured based on the number of hires and the revenue generated, metrics are quite difficult to measure because of the volatility of job hiring in different industries.  We can predict trends for some industries such as call centers who hire more for technical support positions during Christmas shopping season.  However, majority of our job orders come from unexpected means such as incumbent managers who need to be replaced or a sudden resignation from an employee.  Some clients need people in a week's time, while others will still hire in 6 months.

Based on what I learned from my Operations Management class, I have thought of applying some manufacturing principles in our industry in spite of its unpredictability.  I am currently developing methods on how to maximize our capacity for each recruitment consultant in my group.  Each recruiter should be able to interview candidates of various positions whether we have current demand or not.  This is to be sure that we have enough pool anytime a client contacts us for any position.  The performance of each employee will be measured based on the number of calls made in a day, number of interviews made, number of reports created and percentage of hires.  It is as if I am turning my team into an assembly line.

Right now, my team is composed end-to-end recruiters.  I am exploring how effective and efficient it would be to have a person specialize on one task just like in an assembly line.  I am also exploring possibilities of using forecasting, project management and linear programming to make further computations. 3.5

Here is a short structure of what I propose and on the maximization capacity of our group:

http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/lengyistherealbombdiggity/AGSB%20files/?action=view&current=recruitmentprocessmaximized.jpg

I am aware that there will be consequences in case this is implemented.  Because we are a service industry, we will be sacrificing flexibility and the customer service experience of our recruitment consultants.  Having jobs which are also too specialized may lead to burnout and boredom.  There is a chance that this change will not completely be welcomed by the employees, even if it will be appreciated by the management and stockholders.

This is just an exploratory project; I am looking to other options to keep the quality of work and the satisfaction and motivation employees while maximizing their output.  There are so many complexities involved in managing an outsourced function such as recruitment.  There could be sudden changes in trends due to the shift of power in the global market—we always have to be in the lookout for better processes and methods.