Gold Mine Desperate To Hire

A good answer might include but is not limited to…

Internal

• HR Processes – There has been a change in HR processes that have then triggered an imbalance in the recruitment process
• HR Staff – There was a change in the composition of HR staff which affected the business as usual operations
• Issues within the mine – There were issues with the mine (e.g., accident) which then triggered layoffs or resignations
• Mine growth – New deposits were discovered leading to an extension of the mine. HR Recruitment was not able to keep up with the increase in the necessary personnel.

External

• Other mines as competitors – New mines have started operations in the area, drawing away some of our client’s employees.
• Other industries as competitors – New businesses have opened in the area, offering alternative opportunities to our client’s employees.

A good answer might include but is not limited to detailing out three potential hypotheses:

1. Externalizing HR Recruiting has led to a decrease in overall performance, which then translated into longer times to fill roles.
2. Hiring younger and less experience HR professionals decreased productivity while leading to an overall loss of best practices within the HR department
3. Lowering wages made the mine unattractive for workers in the context of a fast-growing local economy with many other opportunities.

A good answer might include but is not limited to:

• The two charts confirm that externalizing recruiting is associated with lower times to fill. However, it makes sense that the HR manager decided to externalize services if they were aiming to reduce cost (external recruiting agency is cheaper).
• The client should re-assess whether they are more interested in prioritizing cost or time to fill.
• An analytical approach would aim to assess the effectiveness of each approach (external vs internal) by dividing the indexed cost by the time to fill.

A good answer might include but is not limited to:

Restating the problem: We aimed to look deeper at some of the causes that led to an increase in the vacancy rate and time to fill.

Providing a direct hypothesis: At this point, it appears that some of the recent changes within the HR department have lowered the effectiveness of HR Recruiting, while external factors have reduced the attractiveness of the mine as a potential employer. The mine should reconsider internalizing its recruitment and developing further means of attracting and retaining employees.

Providing supporting arguments: First of all, externalizing HR services has brought cost savings, but led to a direct increase in the time to fill. Secondly, changing the HR team has led to a decrease in overall performance and loss of best practices. Last but not least, new companies settling in the area with better employment offers have raised the living standard for the local population. 

Presenting risks and next steps: Nevertheless, the management of the mine should re-assess whether switching back to internalizing recruitment is a feasible financial offer. Otherwise, the mine could consider improving its management of external contractors. Additionally, we would also want to further investigate what makes an attractive value proposition for our target workforce.