Approaches For Apple

Apple's Make-vs.-Buy Decision

Recruitment Approaches for Apple

Apple would be best served with sourcing recruitment efforts from private employment agencies for their top technology or engineering positions. Considering the secrecy that surrounds Apple products, head hunters would be able to source out potential right fit candidates for Apple's top positions. For their more entry level tiers, recruitment efforts at Colleges and Universities would be an effective and affordable approach. Apple also will have its fair share of direct applicants, considering the fact that it is very trendy and appeals to all consumers. As stated in the NY times, it has "cast a spell" on consumers and investors.

When visiting Apple's website for careers, the page is appealing and full of promise for not just any job, but a career. Apple is a company that is going to always stay on the frontier of new ideas. In order to do this, it is important to stay fresh with new perspectives and ideas. With this being the case, Apple would want to not only source their talent from internal sources such as referrals or all internal promotions. It is important to show growth and have succession planning in any company, but it should not be the sole source of growth as it might limit new ideas and innovations from coming to the table from outside experiences.

Recruiter traits and behaviors that would lead to a successful recruiting campaign for Apple

Recruiters for Apple would have to have both the talent of being warm, welcoming, trendy, innovative as well as specialists in the Apple product, culture and mission. In order for Apple to attract the best talent, they have to have the best talent looking for them. The product Apple has a certain appeal and when one goes to an Apple store or an Apple table at a job fair, there is a certain expectation that the person you are going to be talking with, is just as trendy as the product they sell. One would also want the recruiter to be as savvy and knowledgeable about the product as the applicant probably is. Anyone who applies for a position at Apple most likely has an in depth perception and understanding of the products and service they provide. If a recruiter was not tech savvy or knowledgeable about iPhones or iPads, the applicants may be concerned that their perception of the image is not being presented by the recruiter. In this case, being an HR specialist is a nice to have, not need to have.

Apple sells itself, therefore it is critical that the behavior of the recruiter does not change the image of Apple by trying to oversell it. Recruiters need to provide a realistic job expectation and day in the life, or a preview of the position. Failure to do so can lead to employee job dissatisfaction and potential turnover. Training is a costly process, so it is in the best interest of the company to ensure applicants are getting a realistic idea of what the position is about and the what the culture of the company is like.

Planning for HR Resources

The first way Apple can effectively plan for HR resources is by doing just that, planning. Planning involves forecasting of labor demands and labor supply. Forecasting will identify and potential labor shortages or surpluses. This is key is knowing where there is some ability to shift some labor, add labor or cut labor. Once the labor has been analyzed, the next step is goal setting and strategic planning. The purpose of this is to focus the organization on what solutions are needed in order to address the company's labor shortages or surpluses so that the company can achieve their targets. Solutions can include downsizing, layoffs, pay reductions, hiring freeze, early retirement packages and work sharing for a labor surplus. For labor shortages, overtime, temporary workers, outsourcing, technological advances and new external hires can be options when there is a labor shortage according to Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2011). The final stage of the planning process is implementing the program that was decided as the course of action as well as the evaluation of the plan. This is key in identifying whether the plan was a success or failure and what modifications, if any,