FEMALE SPEAKER:
J&S Industries has contracted XYZ Corporation to help them revisit their HR practices after a former employee filed a formal complaint alleging her hiring and on boarding process was mishandled and violated ethical standards. To determine how best to advise the company, I familiarized myself with the case. Here’s what I’ve learned. In order to help bolster the local economy, three CEOs, including Mitch O’Donnell of J&S Industries, partnered to hire someone to attract new businesses to the area. It was determined that Mr. O’Donnell would drive the hiring process, with the new employee working directly for J&S. The vice president of human resources for J&S, Denise Parker, reached out to the CEO to offer her services during the recruiting process. Mr. O’Donnell was adamant that he and the other two CEOs could handle the recruiting and hiring process. Miss Parker was concerned, but didn’t feel that she could press the matter with the CEO. A few weeks later, Mr. O’Donnell asked Miss Parker to write an offer letter to the candidate, Jacqueline Dubois to whom a verbal offer had already been made. Mr. O’Donnell gave Miss Parker the candidate’s address, telephone number, email, and resume. Miss Parker sent an official offer letter to Ms. Dubois, mentioning the need to sign the legally-required forms on her first day. Ms. Dubois formally accepted. On the first day of Ms. Dubois’ employment, the CEO held a press conference to announce the new hire and explain how her role would be of benefit to the community. Local news reporters, business leaders, and the mayor were in attendance. After the press conference, Ms. Dubois and Miss Parker began the onboarding process as they had previously discussed, starting with the I-9 form. It was then that Ms. Dubois advised that she was not yet authorized to work in the United States because she’d recently moved from Canada and had not yet obtained a social security number. She mentioned that she had informed all three CEOs of this during her interview, but that Mr. O’Donnell assured her the mayor would take care of it. Immediately, Miss Parker and Ms. Dubois reported to the CEO’s office, where Miss Parker explained the problem. The CEO told Miss Parker to take care of it. Miss Parker reached out to the mayor, but he was unable to expedite the process. Upon hearing this, Mr. O’Donnell became angry, shouting about the press conference and how Ms. Dubois must begin working ASAP as there were deadlines to meet. Mr. O’Donnell asserted that Ms. Dubois’ resume made her Canadian citizenship clear and that it should have been a red flag. In an emergency meeting with the other CEOs and board members, he blamed the VP of HR, indicating that she had made an error in the hiring process. Miss Parker also informed the CEO that per the mayor, they could not pay Ms. Dubois via J&S Industries’ payroll system because she did not yet have a social security number. After six months, Ms. Dubois was authorized to work in the United States and legally began her position with J&S Industries. However, after a year full of frustration, Ms. Dubois resigned. During her exit interview, she told Miss Parker that before she was eligible to work, Mr. O’Donnell approached her privately and pressured her to work from home secretly, arranging for her to get paid through one of the partner company’s accounting systems. Ms. Dubois felt that she couldn’t refuse. Miss Parker was shocked by this revelation and concerned that Miss Dubois might go public with incriminating information because she was leaving under unpleasant circumstances. When Miss Parker shared her concerns with the CEO, he reportedly waved his hand in the air dismissively and said, she doesn’t have a case. After reviewing the situation of J&S Industries’ HR practices in the hiring of Ms. Dubois I am noting in my report that there were some ethical concerns that must be addressed. In addition, I have concluded that HR is not currently valued as a strategic partner within this organization and the CEO should examine how to restructure HR’s role moving forward. If you were in my position, what would your recommendations be to ensure that HR has a seat at the table?
Post a 150- to 225-word (2- to 3-paragraph) explanation of the value of HR as a strategic partner. In your explanation, include the following:
If HR had been brought earlier into the situation involving the hiring of Jacqueline Dubois, how might HR have been able to demonstrate its value to the organization by bringing about a different outcome?
How could HR have been more proactive in the situation involving the hiring of Ms. Dubois in order to prevent the unethical and/or illegal behaviors that took place?
If you were in the VP of HR’s position, what rationale would you give the CEO for why HR should be included in key leadership decisions?
To support your response, be sure to reference at least one properly cited scholarly source.
