Review the competencies in Figure 1.3 and the example behaviors listed in the accompanying text discussion.

Which ones are areas you would advise Zenefits to strengthen so it can better meet its internal needs or serve its customers?

Parker Conrad and Laks Srini noticed that HR responsibilities overwhelm small companies, which often don't budget for a specialist in the field. In particular, they noticed the enormous amount of record keeping involved in hiring and paying employees, providing benefits, and keeping track of hours worked. They started a company called Zenefits to automate many of these tasks. Clients would get the service for free, and Zenefits would earn a commission from serving as a broker to sell clients health insurance for their employees.
Zenefits quickly signed up thousands of small businesses attracted to the free-software approach. Also, according to Conrad, "HR is essentially pretty boring" for entrepreneurs, who would rather focus on products and markets than shop for insurance plans or process time sheets.
However, Zenefits ran into its own HR problems. Evidence began to surface suggesting that some employees selling insurance did not meet state licensing requirements.
Other charges said proper controls were not in place for payroll.
To address the legal concerns, the company changed its management and strategy. Under CEO Jay Fulcher, Zenefits has dropped the plan to sell insurance and instead sells the software in combination with links to providers of additional HR services.