Amazon Firm’s Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices Research Paper

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Abstract

Amazon is currently one of the leading online retailing companies in the United States. The firm faces stiff competition from other major retailers, making it necessary for it to remain innovative in its activities. However, the high employee turnover rates compromises its ability to remain innovative as some of its talented employees are lost to rival firms. The firm needs an effective recruitment strategy to enable it replace such talents. In this paper, the aim was to detect any drawbacks in personnel recruitment and selection and offer up-to-date solutions and recommendations. Data in this study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Findings of the investigation show that the use of technology, especially the AI and data analytics, can help simplify the process and eliminate most of the weaknesses associated with the use of human resource during recruitment and selection.

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Introduction

Introduction to the Research Topic

The ability of a firm to achieve sustainable success in the current competitive business environment largely depends on the skills, competence, experience, innovativeness, and commitment of its employees. According to Lepistö and Ihantola (2018), the top management unit is responsible for developing policies that need to define the path a firm takes in the market. However, it is the responsibility of the junior workers to take specific actions, in line with the policies set by the superiors, meant to facilitate the success of the firm. As such, firms are always keen on creating a pool of highly skilled and committed employees to facilitate successful operations. It all starts with the recruitment of the right candidates based on job specifications and the environmental forces that a firm has to face.

Staff recruitment currently presents a major concern to human resource managers irrespective of the industry in which a firm operates. Aimee (2018) explains that the process of hiring a competent employee takes a considerable amount of time. It starts with advertising the positions available in the company, receiving job applications, and selecting candidates considered most qualified based on their credentials. The recruitment team then has to invite the candidates for a face-to-face interview to determine if they can deliver on the firm’s expectations. The selected candidates have to be screened further, by making phone calls to specific institutions to verify their credentials. It is at this stage, through this traditional recruitment method, that a firm can offer a candidate a given position. The cost may be higher and the period longer when the recruitment team encounters unforeseen challenges.

Some firms are currently considering the use of human resource recruitment agencies when hiring new employees. Instead of spending time to do the job internally, these organizations opt to pay for the services of agencies that have specialized in these tasks. The approach is considered less costly and less time-consuming (Bilan et al., 2020). These agencies have large databases from which they can easily select individuals who meet the criteria set by the firm. They are better placed to do the job matching, which is critical when hiring workers. Even with the help of such an external agency, the HR unit will still need to assess employee turnover and organizational performance. As such, a firm needs to develop efficient and innovative employee recruitment and management strategies to remain competitive, sustainable, and prosperous in the market.

The researcher seeks to detect any drawbacks in personnel recruitment and selection and offer up-to-date solutions and recommendations. The researcher appreciates that currently, firms face the problem of high turnover rates irrespective of their size (Nikolaou, 2021). Highly skilled employees are in high demand as firms compete to recruit and retain the best talents in the labor market. It is rational for HR to appreciate the fact that they can easily lose some of their best employees to their rival firms. They have to find ways of replacing such workers with equally skilled workers within the shortest period possible. The selected firm for the case study was Amazon. The investigation will focus on identifying issues that it faces in personnel recruitment and offer research-based solutions.

Organization’s Background

Amazon, Inc. is an American conglomerate that offers e-commerce services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital streaming. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company has experienced massive growth to become the world’s largest online marketplace (Derous and De Fruyt, 2016). It started as an online bookstore and currently, it offers a variety of products in the retail industry. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Amazon gained massive revenue growth as many people were limited to online shopping (Nikolaou, 2021). Its ability to process customers’ orders and make deliveries efficiently is unparalleled in the United States. Its operations in the global market have also been relatively successful. The financial reports indicate that in 2020, the firm made $404.4 billion in e-commerce sales and $ 21.3 billion in net income (Nikolaou, 2021). Its performance in the other sectors has also been impressive over the past few years. Despite this impressive performance, the company is facing a unique challenge of high employee turnover.

Amazon Inc., which is an online marketing platform, heavily relies on human resources to manage warehouses, process orders, make deliveries, and communicate with customers regularly. It is estimated that the company currently has 1,468,000 employees, 810,000 of which are in the United States (Abbasi et al., 2020). The firm has gained a reputation in the market as one that processes and delivers products promptly based on its promise. As such, the company invests a significant amount of its resources in employee recruitment and training. They have to understand how to respond to customers’ needs and expectations in the market. They are also expected to have the capacity to respond to their complaints, especially when products delivered fail to meet what they ordered.

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Labor unions in the United States have accused the company of overworking its employees. Others have reported that the workplace environment is not suitable as it fails to observe occupational safety and health standards set by OSHA (Albert, 2019). It explains why a significant number of employees at this firm have left to look for better opportunities at other companies. The nature of business of this firm makes it difficult to address some of the complaints its employees have raised. Having an employee turnover rate that is as high as Amazon’s 150 percent is undesirable, as Donohue (2019) observes. It takes time to replace such workers and resources to equip them with relevant knowledge that makes them efficient in their actions. The HR at the firm should find a way of addressing issues that workers have raised. It may take some time for the firm to address all the issues that its employees have raised. As such, the company needs an excellent staff recruitment system that will enable it to replace workers lost to other companies.

Problem Statement

The online retail industry has been growing rapidly over the past two decades. According to Balan et al. (2020), for a long time, many people preferred visiting brick-and-mortar stores to make their purchases. They believed it offered them the opportunity to physically assess products that they are purchasing to ascertain their quality. However, various factors have led to the popularity of online platforms. Donohue (2019) explains that people tend to spend most of their daytime at work, hence they barely have time to visit physical stores. Many buyers have also come to trust online market platforms to deliver exactly what they promise. As the market size continues to grow, new firms are making entry into it. In the United States, Amazon has to compete against eBay, Bestbuy.com, and Etsy among many other small e-commerce platforms. Traditional chain stores that have operated brick-and-mortar stores for decades such as Walmart and Target are also offering online retail services. It means that competition is stiff, causing immense pressure on the firm to deliver on its promise to customers.

The unique problem created by the growing market is that employees can easily move from one company to another. When that happens, the HR at this firm has to make sure that they are replaced immediately. This is so because the services of these workers, especially those doing the sorting and delivery of these products to customers, are essential for the company’s success. The high rate of employee turnover at this firm is an indication that there is a problem in the recruitment process (Maamari and Alameh, 2016). It may be a sign that the firm has failed to select an employee who shares in the firm’s value and mission to customers. As such, they are constantly looking for better opportunities at other firms. The researcher believes that redefining the recruitment strategy can help in ensuring that those who are hired can stay within the firm for a long period. The investigation will focus on understanding the current issues and challenges in the current recruitment strategy. Addressing these problems may help in ensuring that once recruited, these employees stay longer in the firm.

Importance of the Study to the Company

This report focuses on Amazon’s personnel recruitment and selection practices to detect drawbacks in the process and recommend possible solutions. This report is specifically important to this company because it seeks to address an issue that is currently threatening its sustainability. As the market leader, Amazon is constantly under the focus of regulators and employee unions (Okolie and Irabor, 2017). Hiring workers who do not understand and embrace values of the firm means that it will continue to have a group of dissatisfied customers constantly complaining and looking for better opportunities.

The report seeks to identify specific weaknesses in the current recruitment strategies used by the firm. It will then propose a solution, based on research, which the company can use to overcome the identified challenges. The company is spending resources to recruit employees every year (Hunter et al., 2017). It also has to spend more resources to ensure that these employees are trained to equip them with skills relevant to their specific tasks. Losing even a single employee means that the firm is losing money that can be spent on other developmental activities.

When the problem of employee turnover is addressed at the initial stage of recruitment, it means that such losses associated with employee turnover will be eliminated or significantly reduced at this firm. Retaining these skilled and innovative employees will also enhance its competitiveness in the market. The document is also important to firms in the same or other industries, which are struggling with the problem of high employee turnover. They can use the proposed solutions to address their problem. Scholars who are interested in conducting further studies in this field may find this document useful in providing background information or a method that can be used to collect and process data.

Contribution to Research and Theory

Findings in this report will help address gaps in the current body of knowledge. AI and analytics are emerging as a major tool that firms, both large and small, are using to make critical decisions and to undertake major activities that are time-consuming when human capital is involved. This study will assess how this new tools can be utilized in the recruitment and selection of employees. Moreover, this study contributes to the firm-level and market-level challenges that can affect selection and recruitment. This knowledge adds to the HR theory on both internal and external factors of influence on recruitment and selection. Information provided in this document will form a basis for further studies among future scholars. They can also find the method and strategies used to collect and process data in this study useful in their own research.

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Aim and Objectives

The study aims to, through the research, detect any drawbacks in personnel recruitment and selection and offer up-to-date solutions and recommendations. The following are the specific objectives that the study seeks to achieve by collecting and analyzing both primary and secondary data:

To understand the impact of new technologies such as AI and data analytics on selection and recruitment;
To identify the firm-level challenges existing in making effective selection and recruitment;
To examine the market-level challenges existing in making effective selection and recruitment;
To examine the key changes required to make the selection and recruitment processes more effective in Amazon.

The researcher will rely on both primary and secondary data to achieve the above aim and objectives.

Scope of the Study

The scope of this study will be limited to the assessment of any drawbacks in personnel recruitment and selection and offer up-to-date solutions and recommendations. The researcher selected Amazon as the primary focus when collecting primary data. The firm was selected because of its large size and high rate of employee turnover. Narrowing the investigation to a specific firm was appropriate in understanding challenges that are related with recruitment and selection of employees. A mixed method research was used to process primary data collected from the participants.

Key terms:
- Applicant/candidate – a potential employee who is still in the process of screening and selection before their confirmation.
- Applicant tracking system (ATS) – a software that helps in managing applications.
- Benefits – incentives and programs, including salaries, offered to employees.
Recruitment:
- Selection:
  - Recruitment timeline – the period that it takes for the HR department or the recruitment agency to complete the hiring process.
  - Sourcing – networking and the use of professional streams to recruit candidates.
  - Social recruitment – the strategy of using social media platforms to recruit potential candidates.
  - Talent pool – a team of highly-skilled and competent individuals capable of meeting organizational goals.
  - Talent acquisition – the process of hiring and retaining a team of skilled and competent employees.

Literature Review

The previous chapter has provided detailed background information about the study. In this chapter, the researcher seeks to review relevant literature on this topic. As Hamza et al. (2021) observe, the field of human resources has attracted the attention of many scholars over the past several decades. In the past, large corporations could easily dictate terms of engagement with employees because of the limited alternative employment opportunities. However, that is no longer the case as skilled and talented workers can easily move from one employer to the other (Brown et al., 2019). Firms, irrespective of their size, market coverage, and financial power, have realized that they must have effective HR strategies to ensure that they create a pool of highly skilled and talented employees. Balan et al. (2020) explain that the process starts with developing an effective recruitment strategy.

A firm needs to employ a unique strategy that will ensure that its employees have skills and experience that match job requirements. These employees should also believe in the mission, vision, and values of the firm to avoid high turnover rates. Different companies have developed unique recruitment strategies that they believe meet their expectations. It was necessary to review what other scholars have found out in this field. The chapter discusses the impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, on selection and recruitment process. It then focuses on firm-level and market-level challenges in making effective selection and recruitment of candidates. Key changes that firms need to embrace to make the selection and recruitment process effective are also discussed. The chapter then analyzes relevant theories that can help explain and address these challenges.

Impact of New Technologies on Selection and Recruitment

The challenge that companies face when recruiting employees has forced them to turn to emerging technologies. According to James et al. (2019), a survey they conducted revealed that the most challenging activity in talent acquisition is the screening of candidates. When a firm makes a job offer, numerous people will make an application for the job. It is the responsibility of HR to develop a shortlist of the numerous candidates to select those who are most qualified. The process must be done meticulously to ensure that those with the best qualifications are selected for further screening.

Traditionally, the shortlisting would be based on the academic background of the applicant, experience, talents, and sometimes age and gender (Lepistö and Ihantola, 2018). However, the world is evolving and sometimes these factors may not be the best way of selecting uniquely talented individuals. Hunter et al. (2017) argue that some of the most creative and talented individuals in this century, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of college. However, their unique ability to lead others and develop new products enabled them to develop some of the most successful companies in the world. If their academic qualifications were to be used as the basis for assessing their skills, they would probably be considered unqualified for such top jobs.

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a tool that can now be used to facilitate the recruitment of employees. Balan et al. (2020) explain that AI for recruitment involves the use of artificial intelligence in the process of acquiring talents. It involves automating the process of screening the candidates to help in selecting those who are most qualified for the job. It eliminates the need for HR officers to go through individual resumes for the candidates to make selections. Using machine learning, the machine ranks candidates based on specific criteria (Maslow, 2019). First, the job requirement is defined and the expectations of candidates are stated for every job. The machine then assesses each candidate based on traditional factors such as academic background, experience, and age. It also uses unique traits of the applicants such as their creative works, innovativeness, commitment, and the likelihood of leaving the firm after being recruited. Using data analytics, the machine can then rank the applicants based on their scores for each job.

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Benefits of AI and Data Analytics in Employee Recruitment

The use of AI and data analytics in selecting employees for a firm presents many benefits. According to Hunter et al. (2017), one of the main benefits of using technology is that it eliminates personal bias in the recruitment process. In many cases, the recruitment panel would eliminate highly qualified candidates for a given job because of personal bias. It may be their gender, age, race, or physical appearance that makes them appear less attractive to the panel. However, they may be highly qualified for the job advertised. The AI eliminates the challenge by specifically focusing on the set criteria without any form of bias. It means that candidates are selected based on their qualification as opposed to their physical look or the class in which they belong based on societal standards.

The use of artificial intelligence and data analytics helps to significantly minimize the time it takes to recruit employees. Lepistö and Ihantola (2018) note that it takes about 23 hours for a single hire, and as long as 42 days to complete the process when a firm intends to replace a few workers. Most of the time is spent screening the candidates to ascertain if they have the qualifications needed. The use of machine learning eliminates the complex process of screening these individuals. Once candidates make online applications for specific jobs, it takes a few minutes for it to screen large volumes of data to determine those who are qualified for the job based on the set criteria.

As companies continue to share relevant data, it becomes easy for the machine to verify the credentials of the candidates such as whether they attended a specific school, if they worked for a specific firm, reasons why they left their previous employments, and if they have any criminal record. Such detailed screening procedures would take weeks or even months if done in the traditional way (Balan et al., 2020). However, the use of big data means that the process only takes a few minutes. The HR can focus on more important activities within the firm as the bulk of the recruitment activities are done by the machine.

The use of data analytics and AI helps in improving the quality of the recruitment process by standardizing job matching. Hunter et al. (2017) believe that one of the reasons for employee turnover rates in some companies is a mismatch of jobs with the skills of workers. An individual who is highly skilled and interested in marketing would be assigned to a finance department because they also did a unit of finance and accounting. The problem is that such individuals will struggle to work in this department because of limited skills, experience, and interests (Balan et al., 2020). AI eliminates such challenges by ensuring that workers are assigned tasks based on their qualifications.

The process enhances transparency and improves the confidence of employees in their employer. The process does not involve any form of bias or personal preferences as opposed to the opinionated views of the managers. At this early stage of engaging with employees, the firm will be instilling integrity among its workers (Hunter et al., 2017). They will understand that their race, religion, gender, age, or any other democratic factor does not define their performance in the firm. They will learn to be committed to the vision and values of the firm in the market.

Challenges Existing in Making Effective Selection and Recruitment

Making effective selection and recruitment of employees presents numerous challenges to HR officers. One of the major challenges that HR faces in the recruitment and selection process is the falsification of credentials among applicants, as Balan et al. (2020) observe. Many people tend to present fake academic credentials or use the documents of their friends and relatives to secure an employment opportunity. In the traditional system where data is saved in physical files, it is almost impossible to authenticate some of these documents. HR officers are forced to make calls to institutions of higher learning to verify the credentials presented by their applicants. Such verification processes are not only tedious and time-consuming but also inefficient. In many cases, firms are forced to trust the papers that candidates present.

Employers are always keen on determining why a given employee is moving from one firm to another. As Lepistö and Ihantola (2018) state, companies often want to avoid individuals who are dismissed from their previous employment because of factors such as fraud, underperformance, negative attitude, physical or verbal abuse, racism, and other related factors. It is a common practice for HR to contact the previous employer to seek further information about the employee. The problem is that it is always not guaranteed that the former employer will provide accurate information. Some of them may lie to help get rid of their underperforming employee while others may provide misleading facts because of the desire to punish a hardworking employee who decides to seek alternative employment.

There is the problem of losing talented applicants to competitors. There are cases where some candidates make job applications to two or more companies. When they are invited for the interview, they would not reveal that they had already made similar applications to other institutions. They will wait for the job offer to be made by each of these employers. When the other company offers better remunerations and terms of service, they will quit their job immediately (Balan et al., 2020). In such cases, HR will have to initiate another process of recruitment to replace such workers. Such challenges not only waste time for the firm but also resources as the tedious process of advertising, screening, and interviewing has to be repeated.

Attracting talents is another major challenge, which some firms face when trying to attract the right candidates for a specific job. The problem affects both large well-established firms and small companies. For small companies with invisible brands, they rarely attract some of the top talents in the job market. They lack the financial muscle to pay their employees’ high salaries (Abbasi, et al., 2020). On the other hand, some of the large corporations have failed to attract top talents because of their perceived unwillingness or inability to offer conducive workplace environment. For instance, Amazon has been accused of forcing their employees to spend a lot of time standing or walking in the warehouses, as they sort out and prepare customers’ orders (Lepistö and Ihantola, 2018). Such negative publicity makes top talents in the industry uncomfortable to work for the firm. They have the perception that the firm is exploitative and unwilling to create a favorable workplace environment for its employees.

Key Changes Required to Make the Selection and Recruitment Processes Effective

Companies around the world are keen on redefining their selection and recruitment processes to ensure that they can address some of the challenges discussed above. According to Balan et al. (2020), one of the best ways of addressing these challenges is the introduction of emerging technologies in the recruitment process. Companies should change from the traditional time-consuming and expensive process of hiring employees to a new one that is based on emerging technologies. They need to use big data to ensure that they not only match the skills of employees with job requirements easily but also lower the cost and time it takes to replace a worker.

Data sharing is another change that firms may need to consider as they try to improve the recruitment process. Many firms are always keen on avoiding any attempts to share data with their rivals. However, they can no longer ignore the need to share data as a way of enhancing their cooperation in the market. Once a firm has a shared database with other firms and institutions of higher learning, it becomes easy to verify the credentials of their candidates. The HR can easily understand the performance of a given candidate in their previous companies and possible reasons why they opted to move from their former employer.

Theoretical Framework

Personnel recruitment and selection practices that firms embrace define their ability to develop a pool of competent and loyal employees. Some of the challenges that Amazon is currently going through may be attributed to the strategy that the firm uses to recruit its workers. Using theoretical models, it is possible to assess these problems and to propose solutions that can be used to achieve desired goals.

Theory X and Y

McGregor’s theories X and Y have widely been used by human resource managers to help in defining the right approach to supervising and instructing employees. Theory X assumes that people tend to be lazy, and as such, require constant supervision to ensure that they complete their assignments. It limits the ability of workers to operate unsupervised and to make independent decisions. They have to follow guidelines provided by the management (Abbasi, et al., 2020). When recruiting workers, a firm should understand the need to assess the perception and views of workers towards this approach to human resource management. A candidate who states that they work under minimal supervision and can deliver their work on time may not perform well in an environment where theory X is used to govern subordinates. When this management approach is common in a firm, then a firm should recruit semi-skilled workers as much as possible, including immigrants, who can withstand the constant supervision.

Theory Y takes an opposite approach to human resource management to that of theory X. It holds the view that when provided with the right environment and support, people tend to be self-motivated and can undertake their duties with minimal supervision if any (Lepistö and Ihantola, 2018). This governance approach is highly effective when handling highly-skilled workers who know what they should to do to enhance the success of their departments and the organization. When recruiting, such individuals will be identified by their academic credentials, their experience, and performance in other firms. In many cases, they would explain that their main reason for switching from their previous employer to the new one is lack of space to explore their skills and repressive governance that limits creativity and independent thoughts (Abbasi, et al., 2020). The new firm should be willing and ready to provide them with an environment where they can be innovative in their assignments.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a model that has been used to define human behavior. It identifies five basic classes of needs that often motivate people. This model can be specifically useful when a firm is recruiting its employees. At the bottom of the pyramid, shown in figure 2.1 below, are physiological needs of food, water, warmth and rest (Balan et al., 2020). Those who are motivated by these factors only need means of survival. In the United States, such individuals are recent immigrants from developing economies who come to the country to find any form of employment. They are less demanding and often accept minimum wage as long as it meets their basic needs. Many firms are often tempted to hire such workers because they are less demanding.

Above it are safety needs, where an individual is concerned about their security and safety at work. The assumption is that such individuals have met their primary needs of survival and now need some form of protection (Hunter et al., 2017). A significant number of such individuals are immigrants and unskilled or semi-skilled American citizens (Abbasi, et al., 2020). Although they may not be demanding, they want a workplace environment where their safety and security are guaranteed. When these needs are met, they are less likely to consider moving to other companies once recruited.

The third tier has belongingness and love needs, often defined as psychological needs. Such individuals have already met their basic needs and are now concerned about creating useful relationships at work. They include skilled American workers and immigrants coming from different parts of the country (Aimee, 2018). When hiring such individuals, the management should ensure that issues such as racism, bigotry, and any form of discrimination against a section of employees are fully addressed. When the environment does not support such psychological needs, these employees are likely to consider leaving the firm soon after the recruitment.

The next tear, which is still addressing psychological needs, focuses on esteem needs. Such individuals value the feeling of accomplishment and prestige (Balan et al., 2020). In most cases, they are highly learned and skilled workers holding managerial positions. They come to the company to make a difference and they value being in an environment where they can make decisions. When conducting a recruitment process, such individuals will be known based on their current positions with their past employers, and possibly, reasons why they are leaving their employer for this firm (Waxin et al., 2018). Before hiring such a candidate, the management must be ready to offer them an environment where their views can be heard and respected. They should also be granted the opportunity to be creative in their assigned tasks.

At the apex of the pyramid are the self-fulfillment needs, often referred to as self-actualization. At this level, one is interested in achieving their full potential, which includes creative activities (Nikolaou, 2021). The scholar explains that the number of those who reach this level is significantly few. However, they tend to be highly creative workers interested in transforming their organizations. They hold senior managerial positions in their past and present firms and believe that they can continue creating positive changes to make the world a better place (Hunter et al., 2017). They tend to be highly demanding individuals who can only accept specific standards in their terms of employment.

Figure 2.1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 2019, p. 28).

Research Gap

The review of the literature reveals that many scholars have explored challenges related to recruitment and selection of workers in organizations of different sizes. However, it was evident that information about the use of technology, especially the AI and data analytics, in employee recruitment and selection is limited. The field is relatively new and scholars are yet to provide detailed evidence-based reports about it. The researcher seeks to address this major knowledge gap to help firms and HR professionals to understand how to use this technology to improve the process of screening candidates,

Methods, Justification and Explanation

The previous chapter provided a review of the literature to understand what other scholars have found out in related studies. It helped in identifying the research gaps and emerging trends that require further investigation. In this chapter, the goal is to discuss the method that was used to collect and process data. As Tan (2018) observes, once a review of literature is complete, a researcher will have a clear picture of what needs to be investigated. Primary data collection and analysis helps in addressing the identified knowledge gaps based on the experience and knowledge of a sample of the entire population. This chapter discusses how the researcher gained access to the organization, the sampling method that was used, and the primary data collection instrument that facilitated the process of collecting data. Also discussed in this chapter is the data collection administration (how primary data was collected using the instrument), data analysis approach, and ethical issues that had to be observed when conducting the study.

Access

The researcher had to gain access to the organization and get the relevant consent from the management before reaching out to the employees. Breakwell, Wright and Barnett (2020) reiterate the importance of contacting the management of the targeted organization and explaining the significance of the study and the reasons why it was selected to take part in it. The researcher contacted the management of Amazon at their local branch explaining the focus of the study and reasons why employees of the firm were needed to take part in it. Doing so was important to eliminate any suspicion or concerns that the firm may have when it realizes that its employees are taking part in a study. Employees of the firm were only contacted when the consent from the management was obtained.

Sampling Method and Sample Size

Amazon currently has 1,468,000 employees spread across the world, 810,000 of which are in the United States, as was noted in the background information. The time and resources available for this study cannot allow the study to engage the entire population of this firm’s workers. For that reason, it was necessary to identify a small sample size. A local fulfillment center was identified to facilitate the data collection process. Upon getting consent from the management, the researcher had to select the sample. Convenience (non-probability) sampling technique was considered appropriate for the study. The sampling method was used because of the need to include specific individuals in the study.

The sample had to include those in the top management, mid-level management, supervisory roles, and non-management employees. It was also important to ensure that there was an effective representation in the sample in terms of gender, age, race, and religious affiliation. As discussed in the literature review, these demographical factors sometimes influence the recruitment of workers, especially when the recruiters are biased. A sample size of 50 individuals was considered sufficient for the study. 12 HR staff were involved in a face-to-face interview, specifically to collect qualitative data. The other 38 participants participated in the study through an online survey. They represented the entire population of almost 1.5 million employees of this company, especially those in the United States. The inclusion criteria were that all the participants must be working in the HR department of the firm, most preferably the recruitment and selection unit.

Primary Data Collection Instrument Used

The researcher used a questionnaire to facilitate the collection of primary data from the sampled employees of Amazon. The document had three main sections. Section A focused on general information about the participants focusing on the demographics and experience that they have. It was meant to determine the authority of the respondents to provide credible information needed for the study. Section B of the document had two parts, focusing on various issues. The first part was interested in capturing the recruitment process at the company. The second part was concerned with the process of selection that the firm has been using. Section C of the document was specifically interested in determining challenges in the recruitment and selection process. There was also a list of interview questions that were meant for HR. The researcher used both structured (closed-ended) and unstructured (open-ended) questions to collect data. A mix of both structured and unstructured questions was important to facilitate both qualitative and quantitative analysis of data. A clean copy of the questionnaire and interview questions have been attached to the appendix of this report.

Data Collection Administration

When consent was given and the instrument was ready, the next step was to collect data from the sampled population. Primary data was collected from the participants using two strategies. The first approach involved collecting data through a face-to-face interview. The researcher called the 12 participants, requested them to take part in the interview within the premises of their company. The researcher visited these employees at their preferred time, especially during lunch break or in the evening just before they leave the premises of the firm. Each interview lasted 10-15 minutes as had been requested by the participants because of their busy schedules. 2 or 3 participants were interviewed each day, which means that the process took about a week to complete.

All the 50 participants were given a link which directs them to the questionnaire. They were requested to go through each of the questions and respond accordingly based on their knowledge and experiences. They were given one week to read and answer all the questions. Filled questionnaires from the online survey and those from the face-to-face interviews were collected, ready for coding and analysis.

Data Analysis Approach

The final stage in this process was the analysis of data collected from the participants. The method that one chooses to analyze primary data, as Thanem and Knights (2019) observe, often depends on the aim and objectives of the study. The style should enable the researcher to effectively achieve the aim and respond to all the research questions. The investigation focused on understanding the current issues and challenges in the current recruitment strategy. To achieve this aim, the researcher considered it appropriate to conduct both qualitative and qualitative analysis of data. Quantitative analysis made it possible to use mathematical methods to understand the severity of the problem. It allowed the researcher to present findings in charts and graphs that make it possible for the reader to understand the severity of the problem.

Quantitative analysis of data was conducted using an Excel spreadsheet. Detailed explanations of each output were presented to make it clear for the readers to understand facts based on primary data. Qualitative data was also considered essential in this study. Respondents were asked to explain in detail some of the challenges that they go through when recruiting and selecting employees. Using open-ended questions, they were allowed to go into details in their explanations. Information obtained from these unstructured questions was analyzed thematically. The mixed-method analysis made it possible to have a thorough analysis of the problem, making it possible to present credible solutions to the firm.

Ethical Considerations

When conducting research, one should take into consideration ethical issues that may affect the credibility and success of the study. In this project, the researcher had to observe various ethical requirements at various stages of the work. According to Hennink, Hutter and Bailey (2020), when collecting data from employees of a given institution, it is required that consent be obtained from the management before approaching the employees. It helps in addressing any concern that the firm may have when it realizes that its workers are taking part in a given study. In this case, consent had to be obtained from Amazon. As explained in chapter 1, this company is large and with a global presence. Reaching out directly to the top managers of the firm at its headquarters in Seattle was not possible. As such, consent had to be obtained through their regional branches.

The manager was contacted and requested to allow their employees to be part of the investigation. They were explained the primary goal of the study, the reasons why Amazon was selected, the role that the employees were to play, and an assurance that sensitive information about the firm will not be made public. The researcher had to get consent from the manager before contacting the employees of the firm.

When the consent was obtained, the next task was to engage specific employees of the firm. Peters and Fontain (2020) emphasize the need to ensure that identity of these participants is protected. Cases, where people are harassed or discriminated against because their views are different from that of the majority of those in power, are always common. It explains why it is essential to ensure that their identity remains anonymous. In this study, the researcher used codes instead of the actual names of the respondents. They were assigned numerical identities (Respondent 1, Respondent 2, Respondent 3 …) as a way of ensuring that no one can determine their identity.

The researcher explained to each respondent the aim of the study and the specific role that they needed to play in it. All their questions and concerns were addressed and only those who stated that they are comfortable enough to take part in the study were included. The researcher reminded them that participation was voluntary and that they were at liberty to withdraw from it when they felt it was necessary to do so. They were also reminded that consent had been obtained from the relevant authority in the institution. The researcher allowed them to choose whether they were willing to take part in a face-to-face interview or an online one, taking into consideration their tight schedule and the fear of the spread of the COVID-19 virus which is still common in the country.

The project had to observe school rules and regulations from the initial stage of proposal development to the final stage of delivering the completed paper. The school has clear regulations against academic malpractices, one of which is plagiarism. The researcher made sure that the paper was written from scratch, and that information that was obtained from secondary sources was properly cited using the Harvard referencing style. A list of all the sources used to inform the study was provided on a separate page as required by that style. The researcher maintained adequate communication with the adviser whenever necessary to address issues that arose in the project. The paper was completed within the timeframe that the school had set via the portal that was provided.

Results and Analysis

The previous chapter explained the method that was used to collect and analyze primary data that was collected from a sample of participants. In this chapter, the focus is to present findings, made from the analysis, and a discussion that integrates information from primary data and the review of the literature. The goal is to, through the research, detect any drawbacks in personnel recruitment and selection and offer up-to-date solutions and recommendations. The organization of focus was Amazon, the world’s largest online retail shop. To achieve the primary aim of the study, the researcher had to address every objective that had been set in the first chapter of the paper-based on primary data collected.

Recruitment Strategy at Amazon

In this study, one of the primary issues of interest was to investigate the recruitment strategy that is used at the company. As Hamza et al. (2021) suggest, when trying to identify a recruitment challenge at a firm, it is advisable to start by assessing the strategies used by the company. Table 4.1 below provides the demographical data of the participants in the study.

Demographical Data of the Participants
Gender	Male 32		Female 18
Age	18-24 Years 15	25-36 Years 21	37-45 Years 9	Over 45 Years 5
Education	Some College 7	Undergraduates 30	Master Degree 11	PhD Holder 2

When collecting data from the participants, the following was one of the questions presented to the participants:

How do you recruit employees?

The participants were asked to state the most common recruitment method in the firm based on two options provided, which were internal or external recruitment. Data obtained from the participants were fed into the Excel spreadsheet and figure 4.1 below shows the outcome. 70% of the participants (35 out of 50) relies on external recruitment. Only 30% uses internal recruitment. The data shows that Amazon uses both internal and external recruitment strategies. However, external recruitment is almost twice as common as internal recruitment. It means that the employee turnover rate at the firm is significantly high. As some of the current employees leave to work in other companies, the HR has to find a way of replacing them. The process of replacing such employees requires external recruitment. Respondent 4 also noted that “internal recruitment is used at Amazon to fill some vacancies, especially senior positions.” This strategy allows current employees of a firm to get promoted based on their skills, experience, performance, and commitment to the firm.

Figure 4.1. Recruitment Methods at Amazon

The outcome of the analysis shows that external recruitment is more than twice the internal one. Maamari and Alameh (2016) note that although it is normal for external recruitment methods to be more common than internal strategies, the disparity should not be significantly large. A firm that has an effective employee retention strategy will regularly use an internal recruitment strategy to promote current employees and an external recruitment strategy to replace those who have been promoted or those retiring from the firm. The current state at Amazon shows that those who are leaving the firm before their retirement is a significant number, and they have to be replaced through external recruitment.

Market-Level Challenges Existing in Making Effective Selection and Recruitment

The respondents noted that Amazon faces some level of challenge when it comes to the selection and recruitment of employees. It explains why it is often forced to go back to the labor market to replace those who have resigned from their jobs. It was necessary to classify these challenges as internal or industry-specific. In this section, the focus was to identify and discuss industry-specific challenges that affect almost every firm and are not unique to Amazon. Table 4.2 below identifies the most common challenges within the retailing industry.

Table 4.2: Market-Specific Challenges in Recruitment and Selection of Employees

Market-Level Challenges
Availability of the labor force	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree or disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Weak educational background of candidates	4	9	7	20	10
Fake documentation/False information	17	13	5	10	5
High fees for e-recruitment	8	12	10	16	4
Unemployment rate	2	8	15	12	13
Government regulations	14	16	8	10	2
Competitors’ terms of employment	19	21	2	7	1
Company’s image	18	20	4	5	3

The information on the table above was plotted in the Excel spreadsheet for statistical analysis. Findings from the analysis were presented in the chart shown in figure 4.2 below.

Figure 4.2. Industry-Specific Recruitment and Selection Challenges

The figure and table above identify major challenges in the recruitment and selection of employees in the retail market, especially among the firms in the online retailing sector. The industry faces numerous challenges. The data analyzed above show that the biggest challenge that firms in this industry face is competitors’ terms of employment. The data shows that 80% of the respondents either strongly agree (38%) or agree (42%) with the statement. Competitors in this industry are using every means possible to attract and retain highly-skilled employees. Only 16% of the respondents had a contrary opinion, with 14% disagreeing and 2% strongly disagreeing. 4% of the respondents stated that they were unsure about the truthfulness of the statement. It means that within the industry, there is a struggle among companies to attract and retain talented employees. Some firms are setting attractive terms for top talents, which creates a form of competition among firms.

The analysis identified the company’s image as the next major challenge that firms face during the recruitment and selection process. The data above shows that 76% of the respondents- 36% strongly agree and 40% agree- believe that this is a major issue to the company. These respondents explained that once a company image is tainted in the country, it becomes highly challenging to attract top talents in the local job market. According Respondent 2, “the complaints about long working hours and poor conditions at Amazon’s fulfillment centers have created a negative image of the firm in the job market.” Potential employees feel that they may suffer when hired by the firm. It is not easy to fight a negative image of a firm once it is created, as Donohue (2019) observes. 16% of the participants felt that this is not a major problem, while the other 8% stated that they are not sure about the issue. Statistically, the overwhelming majority of the respondents feel the image of the company can be a major impediment to the successful recruitment and selection of talented workers.

Presenting fake documents and false information by candidates has remained a major challenge for decades. Respondent 16 noted that “at Amazon, the problem is common and it affects the ability to recruit employees capable of meeting the expectations of their employer.” 34% of the respondents strongly agree with the statement, while the other 26% agree. It means that a significant majority of the respondents (60%) believe that fake documentation and false information are major issues that the firm faces in its recruitment and selection process. 30% of the respondents had a contrary opinion, with 20% disagreeing and another 10% strongly disagreeing. 14% of the participants neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement.

Government policies and regulations were identified as another concern during the recruitment and selection. 60% of those who were interviewed believe that this issue is a major challenge. These regulations include the minimum wage and workplace environment. Another emerging issue is related to the level of fines firms are charged when it is proven that an employee has been discriminated against in any way. These regulatory policies change regularly, which means that it is the responsibility of the employer to keep updating its employment policies in line with the changes introduced by the government. 24% of those who participated in the study felt that it was not a major concern for the firm. Weak educational backgrounds for candidates, high fees for e-recruitment, and the unemployment rate were identified as minor issues in the recruitment and selection of employees at this company.

Firm-Level Challenges Existing in Making Effective Selection and Recruitment

After identifying industry-specific challenges to successful recruitment and selection, it was necessary to identify those that are company-specific. Some firms are better when it comes to hiring top talents than others because of various factors. Donohue (2019) advises that the best way of overcoming these challenges is to start by identifying them so that an effective solution can be developed. Table 4.3 below identifies some of the major internal factors that may affect employee recruitment and selection.

Table 4.3: Firm-Level Challenges

Firm-Level Challenges
	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Recruitment and selection policy	11	18	1	16	4
Budget limitations	12	18	2	13	5
Effective HR planning	3	13	6	21	7
Lack of the HR staff’s motivation	2	6	12	21	9
Company culture	11	16	3	12	8
Professional training and development of HR staff	6	12	10	14	8
Compensation & benefit package	3	15	17	9	6

The analysis revealed that Amazon has made an effort to address most of the internal weaknesses that may affect its ability to recruit highly-skilled employees. However, there are still some issues, which need to be addressed as the company seeks to attract and retain a pool of talented workers. The most concerning issue that they identified was the budget limitation. 60% of the respondents identified it as a major issue, with 24% strongly agreeing and 36% agreeing that budget limitation sometimes makes it difficult to recruit top talents for the firm. HR is expected to use a specific amount of money to recruit and select employees. Some challenges may emerge, making it necessary to exceed the initial target. The need to stay within budget provisions sometimes affects the process. 36% of the participants had a contrary opinion over the issue while 4% noted that they were not sure.

Recruitment and selection policies at Amazon were identified as another factor that sometimes hinders the firm’s ability to recruit talents. Diversity and inclusion has become a worldwide policy in most of the large multinational firms. This made firms such as Amazon develop new regulations that strictly define what people should be hired at the firm. Some of these policies make the hiring process long and complex as HR has to go beyond traditional screening of one’s academic credentials and experience to their nationality and status of residence. 58% of those who took part in the study noted that this is a concern that delays the recruitment and selection process. 40% had a contrary opinion, noting that these policies are not a major concern. 2% of the respondents noted that they were not sure about the effect of these policies on a firm’s recruitment and selection process.

Company culture is often another major issue when hiring employees. At Amazon, it was identified as another significant issue in the recruitment and selection of employees. For a long time, the company has embraced a culture of employing relatively young employees at the fulfillment centers and as drivers because of the belief that they are agile and energetic enough to undertake physically demanding tasks. The trend has led to cases where equally-capable employees of advanced ages are ignored. 54% of the respondents noted that this is an issue that the firm needs to address as it limits its ability to recruit workers based on their skills and capabilities. 6% of the participants noted that they are not sure about the effects of company culture while the remaining 40% noted that they do not think company culture at Amazon has a major impact on its recruitment and selection strategies.

Effective HR planning was another factor that was identified to have an impact on the recruitment and selection process. According to Okolie and Irabor (2017), some firms tend to lack an effective plan for recruiting and selecting employees. They use reactionary strategies, struggling to replace workers who have been lost from the company. However, it is necessary to note that 56% of the respondents felt that the company has been able to overcome this challenge. They explained that the firm has been keen to have effective plans that facilitate timely recruitment and selection of employees when necessary. However, 32% of those interviewed felt that the company is yet to fully address the problem. They believe that effective recruitment and selection of employees at this firm are affected by ineffective HR planning.

Professional training and development of HR staff is a minor issue at the firm, but it still needs the attention of the management. Amazon has a large pool of employees responsible for various activities. As such, it should ensure that its HR staff is effectively trained to not only manage talents but also facilitate their recruitment. They need to screen and identify candidates that have the best capacity to undertake specific responsibilities. Doing so requires some level of professional training and development among the HR staff. 36% of those who took part in this study identified this as a problem that the company still needs to give adequate attention to. 44% of them believe that this is no longer an issue at the firm because of the measures that the management has introduced.

Compensation and benefits package has a major impact on the recruitment and selection of employees. In the interview that was conducted and online research that followed, it was established that Amazon is one of the best-paying companies in the industry. However, that was not the case before as the firm struggled to achieve growth. Over a decade ago, it was considered a low-paying company because of the number of hours workers had to spend at its fulfillment centers undertaking physically-demanding jobs. Although the workplace environment at the company and the pay have improved significantly, there is still the perception that the remuneration at the firm does not reflect the effort that employees put in, especially among the elderly and more experienced workers (Okolie and Irabor, 2017). 36% of the respondents noted that it is still an issue that can easily be addressed through awareness campaigns.

The analysis shows that 30% of the participants felt that this is no longer a concern as the firm is currently one of the best-paying companies in the industry. 34% of those interviewed noted that they are not sure if remuneration is still a major concern at the firm. Lack of HR staff was identified as another issue that requires the attention of the firm’s management. Figure 4.2 below summarizes the findings made when conducting the statistical analysis.

The Impact of New Technologies, Such as AI and Data Analytics, on Selection and Recruitment

The use of emerging technologies is simplifying the selection and recruitment process in both large and small corporations. Data analytics and artificial intelligence have specifically made it easy for firms to screen candidates’ credentials and to select the most qualified candidates. It eliminates human bias and significantly reduces the time that it takes to process the data of the applicants. Respondent 1 noted that “Amazon is one of the companies that have perfected the use of big data to make important decisions in the market.” It has embraced artificial intelligence as a tool that can help make critical decisions purely based on facts and data instead of opinions and perceptions of individuals. In this study, it was necessary to determine how this company has been using these emerging technologies to improve recruitment and selection processes. The researcher started by asking the respondents to state whether they are aware that the company is using AI in the recruitment of the employees.

Do you use artificial intelligence in the recruitment process?

Technology promises to solve most of the recruitment challenges that Amazon faces. It was necessary to determine if the company is already using the technology to recruit and select candidates in the hiring process. As shown in figure 4.3 below, there was a near-unanimous view (96%) among the respondents that the company is using data analytics to process data from applicants. They explained that it is common for the firm to process employees’ data using emerging technologies to help in the ranking process. The HR staff who participated in the study explained that Amazon receives thousands of job applications every year. Most of these applications are currently done online through a system that the firm developed. Sorting the information using human resources can take several months. As such, the company uses data analytics to determine the academic qualifications of the applicants, the job they are applying for, and their suitability. It makes it easy to select the most qualified candidates to go through the final stages of screening before they are selected to be part of the human resource team at the firm.

Figure 4.3. Use of AI/Data Analytics in the recruitment process at Amazon

The information obtained from the participants about the use of AI was contrary to the expectations of the researcher. Amazon is one of the firms that have advanced the technology of AI when making decisions. Alexa is Amazon’s AI tool that is meant to assist its users to perform specific tasks. As such, it would be expected that this software would be widely used in the recruitment and selection of employees. However, the data in figure 4.3 above shows that Amazon is slow when it comes to the use of AI to recruit employees. 76% of those who participated in the study, especially those who are in managerial positions of the HR department, noted that the company has not replaced humans with AI when making final decisions on employee selection. Further research revealed that when Amazon tested the use of AI in making employee recruitment decisions, it emerged that the tool was biased against women, often preferring male candidates. As such, its application was suspended to help in addressing such fundamental issues. Only 24% of the participants noted that the firm is using this technology to recruit and select employees even if it is not being public about the same. Based on the information above, it is evident that although this company is yet to fully embrace automation of the recruitment process, it has made significant progress towards the use of technology in hiring employees. Based on the findings, the researcher concludes that emerging technologies holds key to this firm’s success in the selection and recruitment process.

Key Changes Required to Make the Selection and Recruitment Processes More Effective in Amazon

The individuals involved in this study have encountered these challenges and are in the best position to propose effective ways of addressing them. Amazon is currently one of the largest employers in the United States and its success significantly depends on its ability to recruit highly skilled employees. Table 4.4 identifies some of the most effective ways through which it can address the challenges. Asking for employee referrals was identified as one of the most effective strategies, with 98% of the participants saying it is effective. Only 2% of the respondents doubted its effectiveness, holding that the current strategies are sustainable. The majority who supported this strategy argued that it helps in identifying highly qualified candidates at the least cost possible and within a short period.

Figure 4.4. Strategies of addressing the identified challenges

Investing in recruitment and selection technologies was identified as another major action that the firm can take to address the challenges discussed above. The outcome of the analysis shows that 96% of the participants support the strategy (46% strongly agree and 50% agree). They believe that emerging technologies can help this company to simplify the process and eliminate human errors. There was also overwhelming support for changing the benefits package to attract top talents in the industry, with 80% of the participants supporting the idea. They explained that candidates tend to be motivated when they know that they will be offered attractive remuneration packages. The 20% of the participants who rejected this strategy argue that Amazon is already one of the best-paying employers in the industry, which should be adequate motivation for applicants.

Conducting professional training for all job interviewers is another way of improving the recruitment and selection process at the firm. 80% of those who took part in the study believe that it can help in eliminating some of the problems identified. It helps in empowering the interviewers so that they can understand what to look for in candidates for specific jobs. It can also help them overcome the challenge of bias and discrimination. Surveying candidates about the hiring process was also supported by a majority of the participants, at 60%. They argued that the process helps in identifying weaknesses in the current system so that the firm can improve as may be necessary.

The analysis shows that 28% were in disapproval of the strategy while 12% remain non-committal about the effectiveness of the strategy. 66% of the respondents supported the need to improve candidates’ assessment procedure at the firm as a way of enhancing the process and another 48% encouraged the need to consider additional candidate sources. Despite the effort that the company has made, the researcher concludes, based on the data analysis, which Amazon still needs to take into consideration various recommendations to enable it to achieve success in the recruitment and selection process.

Conclusion, Recommendation and Implementation

Conclusion

Amazon is currently the dominant player in the online retail market. Its ability to retain its current prestigious position depends on the strategies it uses to attract and retain talented employees. As such in the previous chapters, the online retail industry is highly competitive and firms are under pressure to remain creative when meeting customers’ needs. The analysis conducted above has identified possible ways through which this company can attract and retain a pool of loyal customers. Findings of the investigation show that the firm not only needs to invest in emerging technologies but empowering its HR officers as well. The company should also protect its image to help attract top talents in the industry.

Theoretical implications

Findings made in this study have made major contributions to the field of human resource management. Findings strongly suggests that the use of technology can no longer be ignored in the recruitment and selection process. It has highlighted an emerging trend where humans are being replaced by machines to recruit and select most qualified candidates for specific jobs. The study has also explained the practicality of various theoretical concepts when making decision. It shows that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be used when making a decision of who to employ. It has also explained how HR can use McGregor’s theory X and Y to manage workers depending on the environmental forces that it faces.

Recommendations

The analysis conducted above shows that Amazon faces a major problem when recruiting and selecting candidates to be employed. These challenges should be addressed to ensure that the firm is able to hire some of the best talents in the industry despite the existence of industry-level challenges. The following are the recommendations based on the analysis conducted above based on the priority set by the participants:

Asking for employee referrals when recruiting new workers to help reduce the cost and time;
Investing in recruitment and selection technology to help in automating the process and eliminating human bias;
Changing the benefits package to help attract some of the top talents in the job market within the online retail industry;
Conducting a professional training for all job interviewers at the firm;
Improving the firm’s candidate assessment procedures by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracies;
Surveying candidates about the hiring process to get their opinion about areas of weakness in the system that the firm should address;
Considering additional candidate sources beyond the conventional sources that it has been using.

Practical Implications: Implementation of the Strategies

The company will need to implement most of these strategies to enable it to address the identified challenges. In this study, the researcher proposes that the HR department of this firm could consider implementing the strategies, because they have received massive support from the participants. Asking for employees’ referrals when recruiting new ones is one of the easiest strategies that the firm can use. To implement this strategy, HR will need to introduce a new policy where job vacancies are advertised only internally.

Employees will be informed that they are at liberty to propose friends working in other companies who strictly meet the set criteria. For instance, they should be holding the same or a higher position in another company. Once they are recommended, the firm will take them through the standard screening process. This strategy does not require any significant financial investment. People will be motivated to help their friends work at this company. It will only take regular communication from HR to the employees about the vacancy and expectations. When a talented employee is recruited through this strategy, HR can offer the proposer recognition as a way of appreciating them.

Investing in recruitment and selection technology is another recommendation that the company should consider. When implementing this strategy, the company will need to invest in data analytic technologies. The HR department will need to purchase the relevant hardware and software that can help facilitate the screening and processing of the applications. At the fulfillment center where this data was collected, it may cost the company about $250,000 to purchase the hardware and software, install the system, train HR staff on its usage, and ensure that it is operational. When funds are available, purchasing and installing the system can take one month. However, the training of employees may take a longer period. Within the first month, they will have the basics needed to operate the new system. However, they will need an additional three months to fully understand the new system. Regular training will also be needed whenever new concepts about the system emerge.

Changing the benefits package to help attract some of the top talents in the job market within the online retail industry is another recommendation that the HR at Amazon should not ignore. As discussed in chapters 2 and 4, Amazon is currently among the top ten best-paying companies in the United States. However, it is not holding the top position, which means that it is not attracting the topmost talents. The HR should negotiate with the finance department and the company’s board of directors to find ways in which the remunerations can be adjusted upwards. This strategy may be costly as it will require the firm to have an upward adjustment of the salaries of all its current employees. It may also take 6-12 months to implement because of the consultation and approvals needed before it can be approved. As such, it should be classified as a long-term project that the firm should consider only when it is ascertained that the company is losing talented employees to rivals and is unable to replace them.

Conducting a professional training for all job interviewers at the firm was another recommendation that was made based on the analysis of data conducted. It is one of the oldest companies in the industry and as such, it understands the expectations of the market. It has created a team of skilled HR specialists to enable it to recruit and retain some of the best talents. However, that does not mean the team does not need any form of improvement. Respondents felt that this department can improve its activities if the staff at HR are empowered. They need to learn more about emerging trends and practices in the industry. As was discussed in chapter 2, talented employees are empowered, so they can easily move from one company to another. HR needs to develop unique ways of retaining these skilled workers long enough at the firm.

Some of the participants felt that the recruitment process is affected by bureaucratic policies that need to be eliminated. As such, they suggested improving candidate assessment procedures by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracies. This goal can be achieved by reviewing the current recruitment procedures. To implement this concept, HR will need to engage its employees, especially those that recently went through the recruitment system, to get their views about procedures they believe are redundant and unnecessary. The HR can then evaluate the relevance of such procedures and find a way of either improving or eliminating them. The process should take about 3 months to complete and it should be done as part of normal functions of HR, so it will not require a significant amount of funding.

Limitations of the Report

When conducting research, it is common to face challenges that may affect the outcome of the study. Balan et al. (2020) advise that it is important to ensure that such challenges are identified and managed to protect the credibility of the study. In this study, the researcher identified challenges that had to be addressed. One of the major challenges was the reluctance of the sampled participants to engage in face-to-face interviews. Although the country has vaccinated a significant proportion of its population and the pandemic is largely under control in the country. To overcome this challenge, the researcher selected a few participants (12 individuals) who were willing to participate in the face-to-face interview. The rest of the respondents were allowed to participate in an online interview. The study was narrowed down to a single company, which was Amazon. Other firms likely face unique challenges not similar to those of Amazon. As such, future work should focus on other companies in the same or different industries. New challenges and different solutions can be identified through such further studies.

Overall Summary

The study above shows that Amazon success depends on its ability to recruit and retain a team of highly talented and committed employees. The traditional recruitment and selection strategies have major weaknesses. As such, the firm need to embrace the emerging technologies to help address the identified challenges. The use of AI and data analytics has been proven to be an effective way of solving the challenges that were identified in the study. The firm also need to train its HR officers to understand how to use the emerging technologies in the recruitment and selection of employees.

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Appendix: Survey Questions for HR

Section A

General Information

What is your gender?
- Male
- Female
- Prefer not to say
How long have you been occupied in your current position?
- 0-5 years
- 6-10 years
- 11-15 years
- 16-20 years
- Other (please, specify)
How long have you been working in recruitment and selection?
- 0-5 years
- 6-10 years
- 11-15 years
- 16-20 years
- Other (please, specify)

Section B

Recruitment Process

How do you recruit employees?
- Internal recruitment
- External recruitment
How do you encourage internal candidates to apply?
- Referrals
- Employee newsletters
- Job postings on the company’s intranet
- Job postings on the analogue bulletin board
- Other (please, specify)
What sources do you use for external recruitment?
- Referrals
- Outsourcing
- Media advertisements
- E-recruitment
- Public employment agencies
- Raiding/poaching
- Educational institutions
- Other (please, specify)
Do you use artificial intelligence in the recruitment process?
- Yes
- No
- If the answer is yes, please, explain.
8. Do you use data analytics in the recruitment process?
- Yes
- No
- If the answer is yes, please, explain.

Selection Process

To what degree is each of the specified items important when selecting candidates?

	Extremely important	Very important	Moderately important	Slightly important	Not at all important
Qualification
Professionalism
Experience
Competence
Past performance
Cost
Flexibility
Personality
Race/ethnicity

Any other criteria (please, specify):

What activities do you perform when selecting employees?
- Interviews
- Psychometric testing
- Aptitude and ability testing
- Application forms
- CVs
- Assessment centers
- Reference checks
- Shortlisting
- Other (please, specify)

Section C

Challenges in Recruitment and Selection

To which extent do you agree that the following items present a challenge experienced by your department in the recruitment and selection? Please, mark as appropriate.

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Firm-level factors
Recruitment and selection policy
Budget limitations
Effective HR planning
Lack of the HR staff’s motivation
Company culture
Professional training and development of HR staff
Compensation & benefit package
Market-level challenges
Availability of the labor force
Weak educational background of candidates
Fake documentation/False information
High fees for e-recruitment
Unemployment rate
Government regulations
Competitors’ terms of employment
Company’s image

Have you experienced any other challenges in recruitment and selection?
- Yes
- No
- If the answer is yes, please, specify.
To what extent do you agree that the following items can help address the challenges in the recruitment and selection process? Please, mark as appropriate.

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Considering additional candidate sources	8	16	16	7	3
Asking for employee referrals	22	27	0	1	0
Changing the benefit package	18	22	0	8	2
Surveying candidates about the hiring process	11	19	6	10	4
Investing in recruitment and selection technology	23	25	1	1	0
Conducting professional training for job interviewers	17	23	4	5	1
Improving candidate assessment procedures	9	24	7	6	4

What other changes would you suggest to address the challenges you encounter when recruiting and selecting employees? Please, specify.

Interview Questions for HR

When did you begin working with the firm as a member of the HR department?
How long have you been occupied in the recruitment and selection career?
Does your organization use any recruitment management applications based on AI or data analytics for hiring? If yes, what are they?
Do you experience any external pressure when recruiting and selecting candidates? If yes, please, explain.
Have any stakeholders complained about how your organization conducts the process of recruitment and selection? If yes, please, explain.
During the interview process, have other panel members ever overridden your hiring decisions? If yes, please, explain.
Have you experienced such internal recruitment and selection challenges as inefficiency, limited choice, or insufficient funding? Please, explain.
What other challenges at the organization level have you encountered in your recruitment and selection practice?
Have you encountered such external recruitment and selection challenges as the expensiveness of advertising, a lack of qualified labor force, or false information in candidates’ CVs? Please, explain.
What other challenges at the market level have you faced in your recruitment and selection practice?
What changes in the recruitment process would you suggest to help the company increase its pool of candidates?
What improvements in the selection process could you suggest to ensure that the best candidates are hired?

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IvyPanda. (2023, March 7). Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices. https://ivypanda.com/essays/amazon-firms-personnel-recruitment-and-selection-practices/

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"Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices." IvyPanda, 7 Mar. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/amazon-firms-personnel-recruitment-and-selection-practices/.

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IvyPanda. (2023) 'Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices'. 7 March.

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IvyPanda. 2023. "Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices." March 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/amazon-firms-personnel-recruitment-and-selection-practices/.

1. IvyPanda. "Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices." March 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/amazon-firms-personnel-recruitment-and-selection-practices/.

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IvyPanda. "Amazon Firm's Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices." March 7, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/amazon-firms-personnel-recruitment-and-selection-practices/.

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Reading time	41 min
Type	Research Paper
Pages	18
Words	12154
Subjects	Business Employees Management
Topics	Amazon Recruitment
Language	🇺🇸 English