Problem Definition

People Solutions is a globalized consultancy which paved its way into its successful establishment by virtue of its products and services which comprehensively assist companies, individuals, and teams at different stages of recruitment processes and career tracks, be it, efficient psychological assessment, hiring tools or designing appropriate selection procedure. Their services are packaged into four services, that is, selection of a right person for the right job, development, and management of career-oriented skills and abilities of teams and individuals, inculcating safety in the workplace and career transitions, prominently in outplacements, company exits and retirement.

The Value Proposition or the competitive edge of this company is the 18-year experience in thorough psychometric assessment of candidates with reliable and unique products. However, due to evolving workplace cultures and demands of the businesses and individuals, it needed to reflect in its generic processes and find out the loopholes in its efficiencies which were found to result in a panic-induced behavior in the candidates and therefore, caused a general disinterest in them, towards these processes and practices.

The company’s goal is to include more of practices which make jobs and the related psychometric tests to be favorable for the employees. It must try to exclude the mental pressures and hysterical anticipation caused by the stringent tests to promote mental health in the workplace culture. This involved uprooting of previous business models and replacing them with effective business models which are more human-centered in the long run.  

The business model analysis is utmost important to reflect in the processes going on and to etch out the amendments needed. Business models can help companies to understand, communicate and share, change, measure, simulate and learn more about their businesses. Business models can be a tool to connect strategy (the positioning, objectives, and goals of the company) and business processes (involving the understanding and implementation of strategic information) (Ostwalder and Pigneur, 2011).

The existing business model of the company included key activities divided into four practices of Selection, Development, Safety and Career Transition (Amy’s presentation). The activities were more focused on the employer and the organization satisfaction rather than that of candidates to be tested. The general disinterest of the candidates in taking the tests, by their feedback and reviews showed the path to redesign the business model.
The revised value proposition proposed by us is:

“Our psychometric assessment and widespread consulting advice from the professionals assist in placing an individual suitable for a position in the organization by rigorous testing and valuable feedback with fair evaluation.”

Literature Review

The inclusion of assistance to the individuals and that too from the professionals in existing market made empathy factor surface in the strategy.

The ways through which companies now can create and capture value through their business models are changing as a breakthrough. Yet most companies don’t compete effectively with their perfect seeming business models. This is because they tend to create innovative models and test their efficacy and validate it in isolation. However, it largely depends on how it is competing with other business models in the market (Ramon and Ricart, 2011).

The characteristics of a good business model can be categorized into three criteria.

First, the strategies and choices made in the business models, and their aligning with the company’s goals. Here, it is assisting the candidates in testing and evaluation effectively while maintaining the rigor of the processes.

Second, it is the self-reinforcing nature of the business model. This is possible only when the strategies and tactics complement each other rather than clashing in their objectives. They should create coherence in the activities as opposed to fragmentation of the ideas and lower the chances of creating tradeoffs.

Third, it must be robust over time by defending against imitation by other companies in the market, creating a holdup or capturing the interest of the customers and stakeholders, decreasing organizational complacency and substitution. It must try to hold the effectiveness for a much longer time period. That is possible by the inclusion of future thinking of prospects and forecasting changes and trends effectively.

There are many definitions of a business model which actually constrain its effectiveness due to their generic step boxes.

The studies suggest that the business models must simply start with the choices to be made by the company about how the organization must operate, such as marketing initiatives. Here, in this case, the choices could be reducing the cheating in tests by making tests more interactive, not to time to consume and intrusive, collecting their general behavior during responses. Other choices could be making short but multiple tests if there are chances of deliberate incongruencies in the answers of the candidates. Also, candidates must be shared with, their performances in these tests regardless of whether he or she is offered the position in the job(s) applied for. They would certainly be benefited from the feedback and their on-boarding discussions from well-validated tests. This would increase the reputation of the company even if the candidates, in this case, don’t get hired, by the strategy of word of mouth. Also, the company must discard the assessment techniques which don’t predict performance over time. They must not mindlessly follow the same rules, criteria, and techniques over time even if they become obsolete and ineffective (Belton, 2014).

Analysis and Reflection

Coming to the redesign of the business model, it is complete synonymous to a full circle when the choices made have viable consequences for the growth of the company. Companies usually make three kinds of managerial choices when creating business models. Policy choices influence all decisions and departments across the company. Here, it could be changed in perspective into human-centered perspective with empathy as one of the main initiators in the decisions. Asset choices pertain to change intangible resources that company agrees to change. This could include more interactive, computer-based tests with extra accessorizing features of cloud-based services and testing on the basis of comprehensive analysis of social media behavior of people or it could be changing the demographics of human resource. Making human resource more consultative is the answer (Kristensen, Guro Korsnes, and Malin Noem Ravn, 2015). Also, the inclusion of satellite-based communications systems could be included in asset choices.

The third kind of choices is a managerial one. The governance choices distribute decisions appropriately between the aforesaid kinds of choices. It is important to include this kind since it qualitatively affects the business models.

The consequences can be of two types, flexible or rigid. The flexible consequences change the company’s culture with immediate effects, improving or declining their progress and decision qualities. Thus, they are easier to analyze since the results are fast paced and therefore much can be done or changes in a short while. It has a more of a quantitative nature as compared to qualitative ones. The rigid ones have no immediate effect but can be seen effectual in the long run while their implementation decisions are regularly mandated. These have an advantage of being qualitative and insightful. Plus, these can’t be easily imitated by competitors because the company needs time to build them.

The most prominent feature of a good business model is that it is self-reinforcing because of its virtuous cycle or self-induced feedback loops.

The feedback loops are generated by the right decisions regarding the choices taken and the accumulated experience by it. To infuse virtuousness in the cycles, they must create for more rigid consequences so that they can capture more value and create a competitive edge than their rivals do. Opaque governance systems can creep slack in the decision-making capabilities of the company personnel.

Companies can compete through business models in three different ways.

Firstly, it is by strengthening their virtuous cycles. Secondly, it is by getting ahead by weakening competitors cycle. And, thirdly by turning coherent capabilities of rivals into mutual interests and furthermore, turning competitors into complements.

IMPLEMENTING REVISED VALUE PROSPECTS INTO NEW BUSINESS MODEL

The new business model devised will have two simple sections of choices to be made and their consequences with implementation techniques.

Initially, a literature review is done for improving recruitment processes and making them more interactive, interesting and favorable for the candidates.

It is important not just to recruit exceptionally talented people, but people with more enthusiasm and engagement in the job from the start. This factor should be included in testing the openness to new decisions, ventures and changes of the candidates.

Networking events can be very beneficial in attracting candidates to see and judge the psychometric tests efficiencies. Small scaled mock-ups of these tests could be presented in an easy manner to foresee what actually is needed in recruitment processes and what actual biases are. This could be implemented in Job fairs and Job adverts.

Using social media to conduct small surveys and making them aware of the unique assistance provided by the firm. Unique chatbots and adverts could be made available at recruitment sites, with professional insights and advice.

To make them engaging in the psychometric tests, the format of the questionnaires must be thoughtfully and radically changed.

A mock-up interview could be arranged for a candidate to ensure engagement and curiosity of him or her.

Employee satisfaction does not end at being hired for a good, prospective company. A soft on-boarding experience such as a quick tour around the office or demonstrations of the work they will be doing (Berger, Jonah, and Schwartz, 2011).This is not limited to the hired candidates. Demonstrations could be provided to the prospective job seekers to engage them.

To actively involve trainees and letting them learn and respond, traditional lecture-based are no longer effective, making interactive video sessions more dynamic to change.

Building simple career pages of the companies and presenting them to the candidates is more interactive. Also, making curious candidates aware of open opportunities and making the recruitment process “single click” away with a transparent process. The information must be interesting and relevant to the candidates’ experiences such as perks, personal growth, and learning.

Getting most out of social media platforms like Glassdoor and the employee blogs for driving better candidate experiences.

Conducting Kickoff meetings of the candidates and the hiring professionals and hence analyzing the meetings and the generated results. Managers, interviewers, recruiters could be involved. This would result in great insights after the meeting involving the problems in interview interactions and drawbacks of a current recruitment process.

Providing candidates full information regarding the interviews and tests before actually conducting them so as to decipher the mental models made in the minds of the candidates. This results in positive iterations in testing procedures.

Constantly being in touch with the candidates even if there is a considerable amount of time-lag between tests and interviews or between further calls for recruitment. Candidates must “feel” that their career is taken into consideration by being their assistance at each step.

Being transparent in time boundaries and requirements in processes conducted and their results generated. Time is invaluable for them. Therefore, being open about how much time exactly does the whole process require is far more important. Candidates will be interested more when everything is presented in fact- based information with specifications.  A flowchart can be inducted for better interaction and easy processing.

Give them offers that they can’t decline. This includes the values that employees care about based on their psychometric testing, the benefits, etcetera (Arthur, 2012).

Changing thing up has a major effect on interests of the candidates.In a field experiment, it was investigated that the impact of a ‘strange’ recruitment medium on the quantity and quality of the applicant pool is not to be neglected. Recruiting through an unusual medium (i.e., postcard) was associated with higher applicant pool quantity, as compared to a more frequently used medium (i.e., e?mail). Ironically, applicants recruited through the strange medium were higher educated. A follow?up questionnaire confirmed that the media were perceived to differ in strangeness, not in media richness or credibility. The emails are generally to be neglected or have a short attention period. These results suggest that ‘changing things up’ in recruitment by employing strange recruitment media can positively affect key recruitment outcomes (Cromheecke, Saartje, Hoye, Leivens, 2013).

Firms are seeking competitive advantages to attract new employees and retain them. Employer brands are a tool to differentiate themselves amongst competitors and attracting talent. These actively or passively change job decisions of candidates. So, assisting firms in developing strong employer brands would be beneficial for this company to progress on a broader level (Collins, Kanar, 2014).

Driving traffic to your website landing page to promote recruitment campaigns and attract suitable candidates.

A common mistake is that when they start to use social media and embed into their practices, they mimic their competitors or brands’ social media antics. It must be considered that it is not an additional thing to do but a tool to consider their own market, resources, objectives and target audience and channelizing them into publicity (Headworth, 2015), (Hooker, Lauren, and Rathke, 2011).

AI can be incorporated as a tool in the recruitment processes due to talent scarcity and low employment rates. Research through AI is already proving a success. According to a recent Deloitte Bersin report, the companies that employ AI, predictive data analytics and other forms of technology tools are far more successful than those who don’t. Some of the tools include Mya, Arya, Olivia and Pomato(Berger, L., 2017). AI also helps reduce bias in the recruiting process.

Training and development are undergoing a massive change. Therefore, the company must be up to date with all the trends and changes. The decentralization of training is occurring and with the limitation of time and increase in responsibilities, the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA’s) inculcation must be not comprehensively done but by engaging them in tasks or short duration works or internships in the prospective companies so as to reduce the process of learning and providing a newcomer fresh perspective to the organization too which leads to flourishing of both the parties( Berman, Bowman, West, Wart, 2012).

Partnering hires with diverse internal teams/resource groups after hire: By placing them with a diverse group, new hires more fully understand the resources and people available to them (Stewart, W., and Shamdasani, 2014).

Make the whole experience valuable for them by giving unbiased feedbacks and assistance in future (Erdogan, Berrin, Bauer, Peiró, and Truxillo, 2011).

Many students do not have the idea of companies and actual work culture and those that have acquired most of their information from either mass media or rumors spread by other their acquaintances. By providing information to these students in university fairs early in their academic career, the company can help to extinguish these rumors before they can become detrimental to recruitment. Also, this comes in future planning by the company, holding prospective (Bradley, Katrina, Manning, and Petrova).

Business model can be generated using the process flow chart derived after the value proposition synthesis.

Figure 1BUSINESS MODEL SYNTHESIS

The choices to be taken at the initiation of this synthesis must be drawn from the problem solutions generated. After that, the consequences must be gathered together, of all the choices made. The irrelevant or unnecessary consequences must be eliminated and therefore the corresponding choices.

For implementation purposes, all strategies must be classified on common implementation techniques and therefore, this helps reducing the diversification of tedious implementing strategies and number of iterations.

An example of business model synthesis which is to be run parallel with other models including other problem solutions

Figure 2BUSINESS MODEL EXAMPLE

The old business model of People Solutions consisted of stringent strategies of four services, that is, selection of a right person for the right job, development, and management of career-oriented skills and abilities of teams and individuals, inculcating safety in the workplace and career transitions, prominently in outplacements, company exits and retirement. This was done with accuracy and exemplary performance. But due to evolving career scenarios and missing of inculcation of human factors in majorly, psychometric testing, the candidates were soon disinterested.

Therefore to ensure that the new value proposition and majorly, the tool for recruitment avoids hysteria leading to effective and productive placement of the right person to the right job, Design thinking was incorporated with resulting new value proposition and business model, which woul.

Conclusion

Recruitment processes and psychometric testing were redefined with a human centered approach and innovative thinking, for People Solutions. The ideas formed after reflection and Brainstorming, for the implementation of the new Value Proposition, were put together in the form of a simplistic Business model following a hierarchy of Choices, their Consequences and the Implementation techniques.

References

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