Reducing overtime for firefighters.

SCENARIO

You are the newly appointed director of human resource management for the fire department of a city in the
northeastern United States. Your organization has struggled to hire new firefighters for some time. Your
predecessor attempted to increase recruitment and selection of new firefighters by implementing an employee
referral plan. However, the number of new hires through referrals has fallen short of hiring goals. The need for
firefighters intensified when your city’s newly elected mayor promised to combat wildfires by increasing the
number of firefighters in areas with higher wildfire risk. The fire department has met the need for increased staff
by assigning existing firefighters the additional hours and paying overtime wages. As the number of hours
worked and overtime payments increased over time, this practice—originally intended to be a short-term
remedy—attracted unwanted attention.
A front-page article in your city’s newspaper has revealed that three firefighters earned higher annual salaries
than the mayor, due to excessive overtime. Stung and embarrassed by this disclosure, the mayor fired your
predecessor and put you in his place. Both the mayor and your boss have given orders to “reduce overtime by
hiring new firefighters immediately!” This mandate requires you to plan and implement new strategies to hire 25
new firefighters.
Fortunately, the former director of human resources left behind several documents that will help you perform
these tasks. Refer to the following documents in the “Supporting Documents” section as directed when you
perform the requirements below: (1) “Memo on Proposed Employee Referral Plan,” (2) “Job Description of City
Firefighters,” and (3) “Data on Recruitment Sources and Methods.”
Create a report (suggested length of 5–10 pages) in which you address the following:
A. Analyze factors in the internal and external labor market that influence the supply of and demand for
firefighters by doing the following (refer to the scenario above and the attached “Memo on Proposed Employee
Referral Plan” to complete these tasks):

1. Discuss three factors that are influencing labor demand.
2. Discuss three factors that are influencing labor supply.
   B. Design a recruitment plan for firefighters by doing the following (refer to the task attachments and your
   knowledge of best practices to complete these tasks):
3. Identify three recruitment objectives for your organization.
4. Develop a recruitment strategy for attracting job applicants by doing the following:
   a. Determine the size of the applicant pool needed to produce 25 viable candidates (job offer-ready) using yield
   ratios and the recruitment data in the attached “Data on Recruitment Sources and Methods.”
   b. Recommend two types of individuals who should be targeted for recruitment (i.e., the target groups listed in
   the attached “Data on Recruitment Sources and Methods”).
   i. Justify each of your two recommendations.
   c. Describe two effective methods for reaching each target group.
   C. Design a selection plan for firefighters by doing the following:
5. Recommend three appropriate selection methods for all target candidates.
   a. Justify each of your three recommendations.
6. Describe two selection tests you will use to assess a candidate’s suitability for the job of firefighter.
7. Identify two background verification checks that should be used in the selection process including the
   following:
   • type of check
   • when the check should be conducted in the selection process
8. Discuss four methods of evaluating the overall effectiveness of your recruitment and selection plans.
   D. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or
   summarized.
   E. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

Sample Solution