Reference no: EM132808718

Sheela Arora had been an HRM analyst with Control Data Corporation (CDC) for three years but was recently reassigned to the college recruitment staff. The basic duties in her new job were to visit college and universities campuses and interview seniors in order to identify individuals who could fill entry-level positions at CDC in accounting, engineering, and marketing. After three months travelling on the road, Sheela received a report summarizing her performance to date.

The figures showed he had conducted 540 preliminary interviews on 18 different campuses. Sheela had followed up interviews with 136 of these students,or approximately 25 percent. Based on these second interviews, Sheela recommended to his supervisor that 71 candidates be invited for company-paid visits to appropriate CDC manufacturing and administrative facilities where new college graduates were needed.

All of Sheela's selectees were offered visits. What concerned Sheela and her supervisor was this statistics. Only four of the seventy one candidates accepted the CDC invitation. Based on over seven years of recruiting experience with CDC, Sheela's supervisor said that the company traditionally had better than a 60 percent acceptance rate. Sheela's boss knew there was something seriously wrong. He asked Sheela to summarize how she described opportunities at CDC to the recruits. " I ask the students if they have read the CDC literature in the placement office", replied Sheela. " Most usually have, but they have not, I highlight what we does at CDC, the kind of entry-level positions we have to fill, and the kind of people we are looking for.

But I know that these students have heard similar propaganda from a dozen other big company recruiters. So I emphasize the things CDC has that other do not. One thing, I never fail to mention is our benefit package. It is superior to anybody else's. I tell students about our tuition reimbursement plan, our comprehensive health insurance program, and our pension system. I tell them that our pension plan vests after only five years. I point out that the employee pays nothing into it, that all costs are paid by CDC. Most important , I emphasize that they can retire at age fifty-five and receive 80% of the salary they were making in their last year. There is not a pension plan anywhere that attractive. I even take the time to show the students how, with inflation figured in, they can probably expect a pension of 200,000 or 300,000 a year if they come to work.

Question:

What role do you think the beginning salary plays in the employment decisions of a new college graduate? What suggestions would you make that might improve Sheela's acceptance ratio?