Muffler Magic
1. Specify three (3) recommendations about the functions of recruiting, selection, and training that you think Ron Brown should be addressing with his HR manager now. According to the text, it insinuates the company or human resources are not properly staffing Muffler Magic. They are trying to fill the requirement instead of trying to fill the need. I would first recommend that the human resources work to fill the need versus filling the requirement. This means when recruiting individuals for a position, they need to do more extensive recruiting and especially interviewing. While the requirement might be a mechanic with basic skills, the need is a mechanic that can do the job efficiently and in a timely manner. Knowing the candidate’s ability to quickly accomplish work with customer satisfaction approvals is important. Candidate selection should be improved by improving the interviewing process. During many interviews, employers do a “test drive” so to speak of the candidate and look to see their skills at work. Muffler Magic would greatly benefit by adding an additional requirement to team leads to assist with the interview process. Their part could be conducting a skills assessment to assess the candidate’s ability to perform specific job functions efficiently and also find out how quickly they can perform them. This would help ensure that employees also do not have a mildly fabricated resume which qualifies them for positions they are not qualified to perform. Training should be conducted by the team leads but kept track of. It is important for a log to be maintained of the progression of the employee and how their skills are progressing. This would also allow Muffler Magic to put in place the A-E rating system which could be a task supported by team leads in order to ensure the employees are meeting the requirements for progression and regardless of time an employee has been employed at Muffler Magic, they have the ability to progress as quickly as they want within the company.
2. Write three (3) questions for a structured interview form that Ron Brown’s service center managers can use to interview experienced technicians. (Note: do not list possible answers.) I believe the service center managers when hiring experienced technicians should look at the other skills they offer. I would ask an experienced technician additional questions to further assess his abilities such as: what was the most challenging experience you have had when it came to troubleshooting a problem with a vehicle and what did you do to fix it; how do you handle and mitigate conflict and miscommunication among different employees; and what are your career goals over the next five years? For an experienced technician, the first assumption should be that they know how to do the job – I would still conduct hands on portion of the interview. I believe these type of questions would allow the employer to see how well their troubleshooting abilities and think outside-the-box approaches are as a senior technician; it would allow the employer to assess their ability to manage a team and conflict within a team; and it would also allow a manager to determine whether it is a job the employee would leave if offered 3 dollars more an hour or not, along with where the company fits into their long term goals for longevity purposes. (This would be a step for the company towards hiring to fit the need and not necessarily the requirement.)
3. Explain why, if you were Ron Brown, you would or would not implement the professor’s recommendation to start paying for sick days. I believe three sick days a year per employee is not much. I would also recommend that at the end of the year, the sick leave either be paid out to the employees who have not used it, or roll over to the next year. While the belief is you are only losing a half a day versus a whole day of sick leave, you are also risking infecting the other employees and causing them to be sick. This would end up costing Ron Brown more money in the long run. Providing the sick leave to the employees provides a better compensation package and would help influence their desire to stay within the company – the company takes care of you, you take care of them. I believe it is important to pay out the sick leave, or allow it to roll over at the end of the year due to the fact the employees who do not take it will feel as if it is unfair or unjust. If they perceive people are taking sick time who do not need it or are sick more than usual they will not feel as if it is fair for them to receive the free pay when they are doing what they believe is right. This could cause a problem if both sides (people who were to take sick leave versus people who do not need to take sick leave) believe it is unfair.
4. Recommend and explain your reasons why Ron Brown should or should not implement the professor’s skill-based pay plan in its present form. I believe the implementation of the skill – based pay is a great idea, and Ron Brown should implement it. I would ensure team leads help oversee the ratings as it is their job to mentor and train other employees. They would be the best fit for having a close eye on progression. It would also require the company establish a written requirements for progressing from one step to the next so employees do not feel as if they are being discriminated against or held back undeservingly. It will also show them what they need to do to perform to a level to be promoted. This would greatly improve productivity and influence employees to work harder.
5. Recommend and explain your reasons why Ron Brown should or should not implement the professor’s incentive pay plan in its present form. The professor’s incentive pay plan is a great idea. It allows teams to work harder to accomplish work. As long as they have the team lead overseeing the work accomplished to ensure it reaches standards and is accomplished efficiently then it would not cause the work to be rushed and conducted improperly. I believe I would also implement some type of negative recourse if a team lead and the person who worked on the vehicle allowed a vehicle that did not meet requirements to go back to the employee. The negative repercussions would ensure they do it right and the first time. If they have to redo something already accomplished, then they are wasting the money the company is paying them to accomplish the work (they are paying them twice for the same work as the employee is paid per hour and the customer pays for the job). I would say the first few times an employee has a vehicle returned due to work being improperly done; the employee should not be paid by Muffler Magic for the time spent fixing their mistake.