Problem: Practice Being A Manager

Legal Recruiting Managing human resources in today's complex business and legal environment is not easy. Not only must companies hire the creative and hard-working employees who will fuel growth and competitive advantage but they must be careful to do so legally and ethically. Unfair discrimination in any HR process will result in poor placement, turnover, and legal woes. This exercise will give you some practice in navigating the challenges of legal and effective recruitment and selection of employees.

Step 1: Get into groups. Your professor will assign you to groups of four or fi ve students. One student will be given the role of HR attorney for the applicants, two students the role of nursing shift (day/night) managers at Montclair Hospital, and the remaining student(s) will be assigned the role of senior hospital administrator at Montclair Hospital. Scenario: Montclair Hospital needs to hire new nurses. In fact, the hospital is in a bit of a crisis. Three nurses were recently fi red for using drugs while on duty. In the ensuing publicity, a journalist uncovered that two of these nurses were convicted felons. As if these problems were not enough, nurse turnover is up 20 percent this year over last, and productivity of the remaining staff is substandard. Absences are also up lately, particularly those related to child-care or elder-care issues. Both the day and the night nursing shift managers need to hire some quality nurses-and fast. Hospital administrators have made it abundantly clear that they do not want a repeat of the headline "Felons and Drug Users among Montclair Nursing Staff." Your compensation and benefi ts are competitive, and, with the exception of the recent news coverage, your hospital enjoys a strong reputation. The nursing labor market is tight (there are fewer nurses than openings), and most new hires are recent nursing school graduates. Nursing shift managers need to work together to develop a plan to achieve the following:

1. Hire top-flight nurses to fill vacancies left by recent fi rings and resignations.

2. Stem the turnover of quality nurses already employed by Montclair.

3. Reduce absenteeism, especially unplanned "emergency" absences that wreak havoc with planning the work of an upcoming shift.

Step 2a: Outline a plan. The day and the night nursing shift managers should work together to sketch out a plan for making progress on the three concerns of Montclair Hospital administration (hiring, turnover, absenteeism). Some elements of this plan might include

• Deciding where and how to recruit top nursing candidates

• Screening applicants to reduce risks of turnover, criminal/behavioral problems, and disruptive absenteeism

• Dealing with the turnover, absenteeism, and productivity problems of existing nursing staff

Step 2b: Review the plan. Students in the roles of hospital administrator and HR attorney should listen to the nursing managers as they sketch out their plans. Do not offer comments unless one of the managers asks you for your input. Take careful notes regarding what you hear, with particular attention to concerns and questions. Those in the HR attorney role should consider what you hear from the perspective of both potential applicants (and litigants) and Montclair Hospital (defense of HR practices). Are the nursing managers developing a plan likely to successfully address the three concerns related to hiring, turnover, and absenteeism? Why or why not? Do you hear anything that might raise a legal concern (such as inappropriate interview questions, possible discrimination)?

Step 3: Debrief as a class. Students should open with comments from each perspective:

(1) HR attorneys,

(2) hospital administrators, and

(3) nursing shift managers.

What are some of the specific concerns or questions that arose in your mind as you played your particular role? What are some of the tensions that face the managers and administrators in this situation? How might the HR system of a hospital be improved? Why might nurses represent a particularly challenging set of HR concerns?