FREE ESSAY ON STAFFING ORGS. (DELL)

STAFFING ORGS. (DELL)

Dell's mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering
the best customer experience in markets we serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer
expectations of:
? Highest quality 
? Leading technology 
? Competitive pricing 
? Individual and company accountability 
? Best-in-class service and support 
? Flexible customization capability 
? Superior corporate citizenship 
? Financial stability 
-Dell Mission Statement
Company background
Dell's vision of excellence through quality, innovation, pricing, accountability, service
and support, customization, corporate citizenship and financial stability is clear. This
mission statement is clear and easy to understand. Producing quality work that leads to
the achievement of these lofty goals becomes much more complicated than writing a simple
mission statement. One thing is clear, the core capabilities of any business stem from
the employees that comprise it.
With over 36,000 employees, Dell is a member of the rapidly changing and expanding
computer technology industry. This industry had achieved enormous growth in the last
decade. Dell's stock rose 29,000 percent in the 1990's and as of the second quarter in
1999; Dell was tied for first place in the market. Dell faces stiff competition from
technology giants such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Compaq. With such robust expansion in
the technology industry and the economy, it is becoming increasing difficult for
companies such as Dell, who experienced a 56 percent growth in workforce in 1999, to fill
positions with quality applicants. Dell is currently seeking applicants for positions in
sales, corporate finance, engineering, manufacturing, and most especially, information
technology. Dell currently hires approximately 2000 employees a quarter. With such rapid
growth and expansion the temptation surfaces to simply fill a position with a body.
"Unless you have a good process in place, you run the risk of not always hiring the best
people. There can be a tendency to say 'We need people so badly, a fresh body is better
than no body,'" as summed up by Steve Price, vice president of human resources for Dell's
Public and Americas International Group. To avoid this scenario, Dell has created a
web-based Organizational Human Resource Planning (OHRP) process. These processes help a
business unit focus on and anticipate growth and staffing needs. In addition the OHRP
process allows managers to do their own succession planning, identify key jobs, and
formulate competency planning and employee development. The OHRP process also tries to
pick out qualities new employees will need by analyzing the skills and qualities of
current top performers. This program has been highly successful as Dell's profitability
increased 59 percent in the same period that the workforce grew by 56 percent. 
Analysis of current recruiting practices
Dell's rapid growth and expansion requires recruiting processes to seek out and retain
large numbers of qualified applicants. Dell begins its on campus recruitment at selected
schools in the fall. The on campus recruitment takes place primarily at schools in the
midwest, (Big 10), and southeast, (ACC). Dell typically makes three on campus visits to
selected schools and when possible spreads these visits out over the term of the
recruitment process. First round interviews take place on campus and prospects are
notified with 48 hours if they are selected for a second interview. All second round
interviews are conducted at Dell's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Prospects are typically
notified within 48 hours if Dell intends to offer them a position. Applicants who attend
schools where Dell does not conduct on campus recruiting may apply on Dells website.
Applicants submit a cover letter and resume to the website. Resumes and cover letters are
then entered into a database where they are looked over by a Dell recruiter. Acceptable
applicants are then contacted via phone for and initial interview. Applicants will be
notified within 48 hours if a second interview is requested. Again all second round
interviews are conducted in Austin and applicants that Dell intends to hire are notified
within 48 hours. 
Either recruiting specialists or rotational recruiters who come from specific
departments, such as the IT department, generally conduct interviews. Specialists from
specific departments are generally used in time of peak hiring demand. These specialists
are able to use their knowledge and experience to give a unique prospective, as they are
the ones who are actually doing the critical jobs. 
Dell recruiters expect that interviewees have knowledge of the company and the industry
in which they compete. All the information applicants is available on the Dell website
and prospects are strongly encouraged to look this information over. Dell uses a
competency based interviewing process. Interviewees are asked to draw on past personal
experiences and comment on how the situation was handled and what was taken away from the
experience. Dell feels that this allows interviewers to get a good feel for the
individuals fit to the jobs required competencies. Dell looks for individuals who posses
strong internet and computing skills. They look for individuals who are self-motivated
and can thrive in a fast paced, results oriented environment. Dell has a very relaxed
structure and very few concrete policies or ways of doing things. Some individuals to not
work well in this setting and the interview process seeks to week those candidates out. 
Dell attempts to retain the best personnel in the industry by offering industry
competitive compensation and perks. Compensation includes: Industry competitive salary,
lucrative health benefits packages, 401k programs, profit sharing and bonuses, stock
purchase plans and continuing education. Some of the perks of working for Dell include:
On-site health clubs, employee deals on computers, and services to help them manage some
of the chores in their personal lives. All of these perks are intended to make it easier
for the individuals to concentrate on their role at Dell.
Dell feels that workforce diversity is crucial to the success of the company. They feel
that diversity is more than just a catch phrase or the right thing to do. They feel that
true workforce diversity is a business strategy that fosters creativity and innovation.
Dell actively recruits at many culturally sponsored job fares and events. Through this
attitude and these policies, Dell has been successful in creating a diverse workforce,
and a strong corporate culture. 
Recommendations 
Throughout the last decade, Dell has experienced staggering growth in the computer
industry. They have emerged from an 18-employee basement operation to the leading
supplier of computers in the world. During this time of rapid expansion, Dell has
maintained a quality workforce that has made great strides in becoming the company
envisioned my Michael Dell. While past recruiting practices have been largely successful,
I feel specific areas are open for improvement. It is my recommendation that Dell expand
its on campus recruiting efforts to include more schools in the United States, and
abroad. I advise that Dell should launch an on campus advertising campaign to promote
recruitment through their website for schools without scheduled campus visits. Lastly, I
recommend that Dell increase its use of rotational recruiters to provide a better
prospective on interviewing. 
To meet anticipated demand, I feel that Dell should increase the number of prospects by
increasing the number of schools it visits. Recruiting efforts are largely focused on
midwestern and southeastern schools, primarily Big 10 and ACC schools. I feel that the
company should branch out and extend on campus visits across the country to include Big
12 and Pac 10 schools. These schools are untapped resources for prospective employees. To
promote this expansion without dramatically increasing costs, I recommend that Dell cut
the number of on campus visits of selected schools from three to two. I feel that this
provides adequate exposure to these markets while allowing staff to visit more schools. 
In addition to expanding on campus recruiting in the United States, I feel that Dell
should expand its recruiting efforts to major universities abroad. Dell feels that
diversity is a major competitive advantage that fosters new ideas. I feel that this
diversity can be vastly improved by overseas recruiting. I recommend that Dell expand its
recruiting efforts to areas such as Europe, India and South East Asia.
In addition to gaining exposure through broadening on campus visits, I recommend that
Dell launch an on campus advertising program promoting recruitment through the company
website. Simple advertising techniques to increase knowledge of the web presence could
include: Contacting on campus job placement offices and providing them with company
information and web instructions, on campus distribution of flyers and posters to be
places on or around commonly read bulletin boards or boards with job information. Some
advertising could be done in school newspapers and magazines as well. I feel that
increasing web-recruitment awareness is the most important aspect of my plan to increase
correspondence with eligible applicants. 
To attract and retain eligible applicants, Dell should broaden it use of a rotational
recruiting staff. A rotational recruiting staff places individuals in industry fields in
the recruiting market. This provides prospective applicants with insight on the actual
requirements and demands of the job, reducing turnover and increasing job fit. 
For Dell to continue as a leader in the rapidly expanding technology industry, they will
have to maintain their recruiting advantage. I feel that the recommendations presented in
this paper will keep Dell at the forefront of the technology industry.