The management team liked your recruitment advertisement but realized that they did not consider the salary for these new positions! Since the organization has never hired managers to work outside the United Kingdom before, they do not know how to start determining the compensation. They provide you with the following information that they found on the Internet:
Existing salary for managers is £40,000 (55,000 Euros) plus bonuses.
Surveys show that the average salary for hotel managers in France is 70,000 Euros with no opportunity to earn bonuses.
The directors want to have a consistent approach as to how they compensate expatriates because they expect their overseas business to expand in the future. They also want existing employees to be enticed into working abroad and want to have good range of incentives.
The management team eventually approves the advertisement and the compensation package and distributes both internally. Interested candidates are asked to write a letter to the CEO to explain why they think they are the best person for the job. Thirty managers apply for one of the new positions (there are five positions available). The management team acknowledges that the application letters were not helpful with making decisions and that they need a more robust selection process. There must be a strong sense of fairness in the selection process because they do not want to de-motivate any of these existing employees. They want to select the right candidates because it is essential that the new hotels are successful and up and running quickly and efficiently. The senior managers know all the candidates quite well (personally and professionally). They would like you, as independent consultants, to design an appropriate selection methodology.
The management team advises the consultant that they do not want to take into account the marital or family situation of the expatriate candidates; they are concerned that this may violate UK equal opportunities legislation.
Each management consultant must design a selection process for the candidates.
There is no budget limit for the development of the process; the senior management team knows that it is important to get the right person for the job. However, because the new hotels must be up and running quickly, they ask you to design a selection process which will take a maximum of two days.You must be able to justify why each method will be effective.
The management hires five candidates to work overseas. They feel confident that these five people can successfully open the new hotels. The success of these managers is vital to the success of setting up the new business, so management wants to ensure they provide effective support for them in terms of training and development. They believe that the best option is to divide training into two parts: pre-departure training and on-the-job training in the new country. Since the organization has never sent employees abroad before, they are not sure about what should be included in these training programs. The only mandatory area that must be included is an introductory language section (including basic business French) so that the managers have a basic grasp of the French language by the time they open the new hotels. However, they hope that the managers will enjoy their introductory language course and will continue to attend more advanced language classes when the new hotels are open.
The organization knows that training is important; but despite looking at what other companies offer, they cannot decide what the key training areas should be.
When considering details of pre-departure training, include, at minimum, the following:
- How long the training will take (bearing in mind that the hotels must be opened in one month).
- Who should deliver the training.
- Where the training should take place.
- How the training should be structured.
- The training topics that should be covered.
- The training methods that should be used.
When considering details of on-the-job training in the new country, include, at minimum, the following:
- When the training should begin.
- Who should deliver the training.
- How long should the training take (and over what time-span).
- Where the training should take place.
- How the training should be structured.
- The topics that should be covered.
- The training methods that should be used.
For both training sessions, include how will the training be evaluated to see if the training succeeded in its goals.
Finalize this plan with a conclusion that “sells” your ideas, as the consultant, to the Brunt Hotel management team.
Include,
- Design an effective international compensation package for the hotel management position (at least the top three positions).
- Explain the rationale for your design. (You may also include non-financial benefits.)
- Create a selection process for the candidates.
- Create a two- to four-week training plan for all five managers.
- Divide training into two parts: pre-departure training and on-the-job training in the new country.
- Evaluate your plan by providing a “sells pitch” conclusion for company.
