Managers are proactively improving the employees selection process with various strategies that will ideally enhance corporate success. Some of these strategies focus on improving the quality of individuals who apply for work as well as those who are actually hired into the organisation. Other strategies target the selection process and seek to improve the various activities involved in the proper hiring. The overriding theme of these efforts in the selection process is a key component of an organisations strategy because the process ideally provides highly motivated and qualified employees who can ultimately impact the financial and operational well being of a company. Hallmark Cards is one company that emphasizes selection. It recently developed a recruiting metric called “staffing index” that enables management to track the degree to which newly hired employees are performing as expected on the job. A series of evaluations are conducted over time, and scores are compared to obtain a longitudinal perspective on the quality of the hiring decisions. United Health Group is another organization that has improved its selection activities with proper strategic planning and execution. The company’s vice president of recruitment services decided to modify hiring procedures within the organization by splitting job candidates into two basic groups. The first group of individuals was comprised of high-level professionals who would be recruited by internal staffing specialists, while the second group included various staff and line personnel who would be acquired with outsourcing contacts. This “two pronged” strategy enabled the company to save money through increased control and efficiency. These various strategic selection approaches enable companies to improve the manner in which employees are hired and placed within a hierarchy of jobs. Many other strategies could be employed in different employment situations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of selection. Overall, these efforts should increase the degree of fit between employees and organizations and increase the completion of strategic objectives. 

a. Compare and contrast the two selection strategies used by the organizations discussed in the case. 

b. What other strategies might help organizations better utilize and manage selection activities?