Recruiting Across Cultures

How can organizations attract human capital in an increasingly global and multinational workplace? Researchers at the University of Memphis have developed a values-based recruiting model for organizations attempting to recruit across countries and cultures, as well as in a more diverse multinational, domestic workforce.

Much of recruitment research and practice has been developed from a Western mindset. Dr. David Allen (University of Memphis) and Dr. Rong Ma (an alum of the FCBE Ph.D. program) suggest that successful 21st century recruiting must take into account key cultural differences. Research suggests that cultures vary in important ways including: individualism-collectivism; power distance; uncertainty avoidance; masculinity; and long- or short-term orientation.

The researchers’ theoretical model published in Human Resource Management Review suggests that these key cultural differences influence how individuals respond to recruiting activities during the early applicant generation phase of recruitment; throughout the recruitment process; and during the job choice process.

Specific propositions outline how cultural values influence how potential applicants respond to initial communication methods and messages; how applicants respond to assessment methods and other features of the staffing process; and in the most salient job and organizational attributes used in decision making.

To learn more, contact the research team: David G. Allen, Department of Management, University of Memphis, dallen@memphis.edu; and Rong Ma, Department of Management, University of Memphis, rongma@memphis.edu.

Retaining Your Most Valuable Employees

How can organizations retain their most valued employees? Dr. David Allen of the Fogelman College of Business and Economics Management Department has a pretty good idea.

Dr. Allen reviewed the academic research from hundreds of studies exploring why individual employees voluntarily leave their jobs. He distilled the findings into a set of practical guidelines for effective retention management that include the costs of turnover, key drivers of turnover, the processes by which individuals make turnover decisions, the work characteristics that have the strongest relationships with turnover, and key reasons why employees stay with their organizations.

The report he has generated also includes guidelines for developing an effective retention management plan, addressing issues such as analyzing turnover trends, collecting data on why employees are staying or leaving, key strategies for managing retention, and the critical role of human resource management practices.

The report is being made available electronically to the Society for Human Resource Management’s more than 225,000 members in over 125 countries, 1,000 hard copies will be distributed at the SHRM Staffing Conference in April, and several thousand copies will be handed out at the SHRM Annual Conference in June. SHRM members can download the report for free at http://www.shrm.org/foundation/RetainingTalent.pdf. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Dr. Allen at dallen@memphis.edu.

Website Design and Attracting Job Applicants

Many organizations use their Web sites to communicate job information and attract applicants. A group of researchers are studying the effect that a company’s Web site has on potential employees. This study, with 800 participants, provides evidence that organizational brand image, the amount of information provided, and reactions to the Web site influences potential employees in their evaluation of the organization and job pursuit intentions.

Participants were provided the name of a randomly assigned Fortune 500 organization and asked to rate their familiarity with and perceptions of the company. Participants then surfed the organization’s Web site and rated the amount of job and organization information, their attitudes toward the Web site and the organization, and their intentions to pursue employment with that organization.

Among the results, published the Journal of Applied Psychology, are indications that brand image matters, and investments in developing and maintaining a positive well-known image can make recruitment advertising more effective and help organizations attract applicants. At the same time, Web site designs that provide sufficient information and that engender positive evaluations of the Web site itself may be taken as signals about the organization and also help organizations attract applicants.

The research team includes David G. Allen, Department of Management, University of Memphis, dallen@memphis.edu; Raj V. Mahto, California State University, Fullerton (Ph.D. from FCBE, University of Memphis); Robert F. Otondo, Mississippi State University.