Understanding and improving quality in firm recruitment processes : A case study

Abstract

Nowadays, digitalization enables automation of manual work and repetitive tasks. This transformation facilitates higher exploitation of intellectual human resources within allocated working hours. In addition, intellectual demand for making a venture successful grows exponentially, requiring cross-functional intellectual inputs. In this condition, people play a more important role than ever before, making human capital a strategic resource which plays a critical role in the success of a firm. When the focus is on amplification of both individual and team performance, recruitment of a new employee becomes a complex and challenging task because a “wrong” person may negatively affect the entire ecosystem within a company. Taking into consideration individual peculiarities, internal ecosystem, and challenges of the external environment, recruitment becomes a complex and resource-consuming business process. How can we know that the recruitment process in a particular company is of high quality? And how can we understand what can be improved? In this context we have conducted a case-study within company Z. Through reinforcing the importance of human capital as a strategic resource and analyzing the recruitment process at company Z, we draw insights for providing practical recommendations and lay the foundation for further research. Practically, we suggest adopting a systematic data-driven approach ensuring holistic insight through data defragmentation to facilitate business process maturation. Academically, we conclude that, despite being an effective methodology, Lean Six Sigma is underutilized in non-industrial business processes, and its implications and potential in different types of business processes requires further research.