EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTrilogy Enterprises Inc., Austin, Texas, USA
seems to be a well established organization which has understood
the changing nature of the environment. Because of this
understanding they have become a fast-growing company which
provides software solutions to giant global firms for improving
their sales and performance. Trilogy is currently providing
software solution for 3 industries. Their clients in each industry
are probably the best performers in world stage in their respective
industries. The industries Trilogy is providing software solutions
and their clients in each industry are as follows. Automotive
industry - Ford, GM, Nissan, Chrysler, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo,
Jaguar and AutoNation Insurance and financial services Telecom,
technology and media industry - AT&T, Cable & Wireless,
Cox, Verizon and ADT By looking at their clients we can come to a
conclusion that Trilogy is a great place to get software solutions.
But it is said that many of its approaches to business practice are
unusual. It seems to be same for their human resource strategies as
well. It is said that, unlike most of other companies around the
world, their employees dont have a dress code. And there is no
specific working hours. Employees make their own hours. They tend
to socialize together and in most occasions company is sponsoring
them to go to local dance clubs and retreats in Las Vegas and
Hawaii.These facts show that Trilogys company culture is a bit
different from other companies.The other most significant factor is
that Trilogy seems to have a very strong Business Strategy and the
HR division of Trilogy has done a great job to align the HR
strategy of Trilogy with the business strategy. Managers at Trilogy
have understood that the rapid growth they seek depends on having a
staff of the best people they can find, quickly trained and given
broad responsibility and freedom as soon as possible. In software
industry, if a company wants to succeed and grow rapidly, it is a
must to have best people who can write brilliant codes and people
who can gain the momentum with lesser guidance. It is clear that
the managers of Trilogy have understood the fact really well.Their
CEO is also accepting the fact that for software company people are
everything. So they have a recruitment and selection process which
checks each and every aspect of the candidates. They dont look at
only at the knowledge of the candidates. It is obvious that a
software engineer should have a good computer programming
knowledge. Along with that a software engineer should have a good
stamina, because in some instances software engineers have to work
under an immense pressure.It is said that annually Trilogy is
reviewing nearly 15000 resumes. And they select only about 1.75%
out of them all. The cost per hire is $13000. This figure shows how
serious Trilogy is about their recruitment and selection process.
So, rest of this report is about how Trilogy is Finding People Who
Are Passionate about What They Do.
1. Identify some of the established recruiting techniques that
underlie Triologys unconventional approach to attracting
talent.
Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the
organization. Since Trilogys HR strategy is greatly aligned with
the Business strategy HR department of Trilogy has made finding the
right people a companywide mission. Their recruitment and selection
process is a very unusual one. We say so because they do it in a
very funky way. Though they are doing it in a funky way they have
integrated formality in to that process as well. They seem to have
only two method of recruitment. They are very conventional methods.
They are finding recruits only from Educational
institutions/Universities and College Career Fairs. They pursue the
freshest over achievers with ambition and entrepreneurial
instincts.When looking at the two methods Trilogy is using for
recruiting employees, it is evident that they are only focusing at
the college graduates. This is a very interesting thing We say so,
because Trilogy is a company based on USA. Out of the worlds 1st
100 rank universities, about 80% is belonging to USA. So the reason
why they are not going for other methods of recruitment is very
clear. In 1998, the company reviewed 15,000 resumes, conducted 4000
on-campus interviews, flew 850 candidates to Austin for on-site
interviews, and ended up hiring a total of 262 college graduate.
This time-consuming process is expensive, at $13,000 per hire, but
the firm is aiming for the "whiz kid" who will develop the next hit
software package
On the other hand software industry is a place where you need
creative and innovative people. That might be a big reason why they
are spending as much higher amount as $13000 per head in the hiring
process. As a software company Trilogy have to identify people who
can successfully respond to the question What Can We Remove? during
their recruitment process. Preparing brilliant codes is not an easy
job. Sometimes that might take days and days of hard work. Or even
more. So the person who is going to become a Brilliant software
engineer should have a good stamina as well. So Trilogy has to look
at people who have Knowledge + Stamina both in their recruitment
process. After conducting on campus interviews they select about
20% and taking them out on the town into Austin for a standard,
three-day preliminary visit. There a typical day might begin with
grueling interview but end with mountain biking, roller blading or
laser tag. So it is clear that they are examining the stamina of
each and every candidate during the recruitment and selection
process.The other important thing we should note is that Trilogy is
only focusing on external recruitment methods. Though their method
of recruitment is unconventional, through external recruitment they
can attract new blood to the organization. The external recruitment
is the main source of new skills and competencies. So it is clear
that though Trilogys recruitment process seems to be an
unconventional one it is using conventional recruitment methods
along with a bit of funkiness to identify the correct people which
have required knowledge and stamina to work in Trilogy.
2. What particular elements of Triologys culture most likely
appeal to the kind of employees it seeks? How does it convey those
elements to job prospects?
Trilogys culture is different. That different has done as a part
of Trilogys business strategy. Once Trilogys CEO was asked a
question related to Trilogys culture. The question he was asked is
What are your top three challenges? The answer he gave to this
answer gives a great insight about Trilogys unorthodox culture. His
answer to above question is as follows.
(1) Hiring the right people, (2) making customers successful,
(3) not losing the culture keeping Trilogy a place where
individuals can really shine. I want to make it a place where
individuals are constantly challenged, are in over their heads and
find ways to get out of it.
The above phase shows that Trilogy is a place where employees
have no barriers to do whatever they like. They have given all the
independence they need to come up with the solutions to the
problems which they were given to solve. But, since the customers
and projects they are dealing are people with high expectations
each and every software engineer at Trilogy is constantly
challenged. No dress code As We mentioned earlier also Trilogy
being a software company, the employees working at Trilogy might
have to work under pressure. When working under pressure, you might
have to spend long hours at the office. If you are an employee
working in such a company and asked to work long hours wearing a
nice shirt, trouser and a tie, would you like that? I dont think
so. Dress codes need to be appropriate to the workplace, the
culture of the workplace, the workplace environment, and health and
safety standards. Construction workers, some production line
workers, game developers, software developers, and outdoor workers
as just a few examples, may well wear denim as the most appropriate
fabric for the work they do and their workplace culture. Because of
this and the dynamic culture of Trilogy management has decided not
to have a dress code.
Flexi hours A system of flexible working hours gives employees
some choice over the actual times they work their contracted hours.
Such a system can be a good way of recruiting and retaining staff -
since it provides an opportunity for employees to work hours
consistent with their other commitments. And Working Relations
between employees and supervisors/managers can improve. Flexible
working can replace that old fashioned concept of what was is often
referred to as "Face Management" i.e. the boss needs to see the
employee at work to prove work is being performed. This is a
cultural thing that can be overcome by organizations realizing that
a more far sighted approach can be taken. Indeed if we can call
Face Management an "old culture device", its preservation can lead
to all sorts of situations e.g. an employee can feel he/she has to
stay late, irrespective of what is actually being achieved, just to
impress a boss. In a modern working environment, employees can
resent such an approach, often knowing themselves that by
comparison flexible working engenders a task oriented environment.
At Trilogy also the flexi hours is giving the employees to make
their own hours. The average age of employees is 26 Most of
Trilogys job prospects are youngsters. Besides hiring a younger
work force you should treat and pay as if they were the force
behind your business, because after all you are only as good as
your employees. Young working professionals respond well to fast
results and positive environments. If you can create this in your
work environment you should have a motivated, loyal, and strong
work force driving your company to prosper. A good example of this
is Google. They treat their employees as if they were VIPs, and in
a sense, they are. Google's employees are happy to go to work every
day and get every benefit you can imagine. In the end Google may
have spent more money on their employees than most companies but
they have created a fun and loyal work environment where everyone
strives to benefit the company that treats them so nicely. As per
my view Trilogys situation is also same. Job prospects would love
to join such a company because they know that it is easy to get
support from people in the same age levels.
Company sponsored events It is said that Trilogy is sponsoring
their employees trips to places like dance clubs and retreats in
Las Vegas and Hawaii. It is very important to show your employees
how much you value their hard work. Trilogys management might be
offering their suggestions, but they seem to be clearly understood
that these parties are for the employees and should be planned by
them. Trilogy University After selecting the correct employees
Trilogy is giving the new employees a few weeks of intensive
training at a place called Trilogy University, which Trilogys
employees call them as a Boot Camp. The participants are given
training on technology and the business. And then they are allowed
to loose on the world. This can be considered as a kind of an
induction program for the new comers. Induction program is a feat
thing for any new comer, because he/she can get to know what is
happening in the company and who is around him/her before go to the
real working environment.
As per our view those are the most appealing things for the job
prospects. They know that the life at Trilogy is going to be a bit
tough. But the management of Trilogy also has understood that and
they have taken necessary steps to make sure that their employees
are happy all the time despite whatever the situation they are
in.
3. Would Triology be an appealing employer for you? Why or why
not? If not, what would it take for you to accept a job offer from
Triology?
I would give the answer YES to above question. That is because
of many reasons. The first thing I look at before accepting a job
offer is, whether the company is a growing one. I say so, because
if the company Im going to join is not a growing company, I will
not have the chance to go up the ladder and achieve my career
goals. On the other hand, with the rapidly changing environment, a
company which doesnt have the ability to grow cant offer its
employees with job security as well. When it comes to Trilogy, it
is said that Trilogy is a fast-growing software company.Also I like
the fact that it has been mentioned as a company which has a unique
and unorthodox culture. If you join a software company to do a job,
you sometimes have to do things a bit strange, like sleeping in the
work place, cooking in your work place, etc. So, if the culture of
a software company would be the same culture as in a normal
organization it would be really hard to manage your work. That is
because, normally software companies are considered to be places
which employees have to undergo a lot of pressure. So any software
companys culture definitely should be different from other
companies. Trilogys culture is considered as unorthodox because of
many reasons. Some of them and why I like those things are as
follows.Flexi hours Im a person who like freedom. But when join to
a software company I, the attitude I have is that there wont be
enough freedom to do my personal stuff. But at Trilogy, I can go to
work and any time. What they ill expect from me is to do the work
which was assigned to me on time. On the other hand I can dedicate
some time from my weeks time table to my father, mother, girl
friend and everyone who loves me.No Dress Code Frankly speaking I
hate dress code. I see it as a barrier for productivity in a
software company. At Trilogy it is said that there is no dress
code. When working with denim covering your lower part of the body
and a t-shirt covering your upper part of the body, I can feel like
being at home. Frankly those two dresses create a home like
environment around me. But there is another side of this. To my way
of thinking, receptionists and other front office people, and
anyone who will be meeting clients or the public, ought to observe
a dress code appropriate to the work of the company and their
position. But what about back office people, who may never meet
with the public? Software engineers are supposed to be the back
office people, who never meet the clients. So there is no need for
them to wear a formal dress.Socializing together By doing this I
can relief my stress. Normally whatever facilities and benefits you
have given by the organization; normally it is obvious that the
environment in a software company can be a bit stressful. So, it is
important to have a stress relief method. The most important thing
is that Trilogys management has understood the importance of this
and they are sponsoring the socializing events, which I think as a
great thing. I cant see many organizations do this kind of thing
for the mental well being of their own employees.Training Training
of employees takes place after orientation takes place. Training is
the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities and knowledge of
employees for doing a particular job. Training process moulds the
thinking of employees and leads to quality performance of
employees. It is continuous and never ending in nature. Training
can be categorized in to many parts. In this case Im speaking about
the training which the new candidates are being given. This
training familiarizes them with the organizational mission, vision,
rules and regulations and the working conditions. It is great to
see that the Trilogys management has understood the importance of
training the new comers at least for a few weeks at a place called
Trilogy University. Training is crucial for organizational
development and success. It is fruitful to both employers and
employees of an organization. An employee will become more
efficient and productive if he is trained well.These are the
reasons why I think Trilogy as an appealing employer for me. By
working with an employer like Trilogy you are not going to lose the
creativity and innovativeness one possess during the University
life, because at Trilogy it seems like every minute you are being
challenged and to cope up with that challenge you need to learn new
thing and you have to think creatively. When doing product
development you have to think innovatively.
4. What suggestions would you make to Triology for improving its
recruiting processes?
The recruitment method the Trilogy is using at the moment is
external recruitment. It is clear that they can gain a lot of
advantages by doing external recruitment. But they are using only 2
recruitment methods. According to my view that limits their options
of attracting people. So it is better if they can go for other
conventional methods of doing external recruitment. Some of the
recruitment methods I suggest Trilogy are as follows.
Newspaper advertisements Business magazine advertisements
Television and radio advertisement
Im not suggesting them methods like recruitment agencies,
outsourcing, walk in interviews, etc, because I think they are not
suitable for the culture of Trilogy. By expanding the methods of
external recruitment Trilogy could widen their options and they can
create element of competition as well.Also I suggest them to go for
internal recruitment as well. I suggest them that option, because
they can gain extra advantage from the existing workforce by doing
internal recruitment. By using only the external recruitment
methods, sometimes undesired problems might occur among employees.
Also external recruitment is a costly and a time consuming
operation. This can be seen from the fact that Trilogy is spending
nearly $13000 per recruit annually. By using internal recruitment
techniques they can utilize the internal talent in a better way.
Also they can do the recruitment process in an economical manner.
The cost side is a clear internal recruitment benefit. The internal
recruitment can be quicker and cheaper than the external
recruitment. The employee who works with the organization usually
does not ask a huge salary. On the other hand internal recruitment
can be a motivational factor for other employees in the
organization as well. Internal recruitment makes sure that the
carrier development for employees will be there in the
organization. So the career development is a huge benefit of the
internal recruitment process. The career development has to be
communicated openly and the employees cannot be worried about their
application for a new position within the organization. The career
development can define special rules for the application for the
new position. The rule is usually about the necessity to stay at
one position for a defined period of time before applying for a new
one. In case of necessity, the HRM Function can act quicker, but
the current manager of the employee has to agree to allow the
transfer. When the career development functions well, the employees
are motivated to train themselves to get more skilled and develop
their competencies as they see the career opportunity in the
organization.I think Trilogy should have a plan to develop their
future leaders. I dont see any specific plan as such. Considering
the amount of money they are incurring on the recruitment process
there is no reason why they cant develop a method to develop their
future leaders. I would like to suggest them to start a Graduate
Trainee Program. Most large companies employing graduates, have
graduate training programs in place. These companies tend to invest
thousands in recruiting graduates who have demonstrated impressive
academic ability but who have little or no experience in the world
of work. A graduate training programs is a way of bridging the gap.
Graduate training programs ease candidates into the world of work
and give them the skills necessary to become part of the larger
team. They tend to last either one or two years. Some will offer
students the opportunity to experience several different areas of
business before choosing a final career path within the company.
Graduate training programs have long been popular with banks,
insurance companies and financial institutions but they have become
increasingly more common with employers across all sectors,
particularly the IT and technical spheres. Advantages of graduate
trainee programs are as follows.
A good level of support when starting your career. Training and
development opportunities. A mentor to talk through any problems.
The opportunity to study for a professional qualification (normally
funded by your employer). The chance to rotate through different
departments and gain experience of different functions.
So, I believe that expanding the number of methods of external
recruitment, introducing internal recruitment and introducing a
graduate trainee program will enhance the recruitment process of
Trilogy.
REFERENCE
Changing World of Work and Organization, lecture 1 tutorial,
module 2, PQHRM by Mr. A. D. Gomez.
Finding People Who Are Passionate About What They Do,
Application Case.
Recruitment and Selection, lecture 5 tutorial, module 2, PQHRM
by Mrs. Tharanga Samarakkody
Human Resource Management by Snell, Bohlander and Vohra
Recruitment External Recruitment Advantages of External
Recruitment,
http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/recruitment_external.asp
Culture IBM v. Trilogy,
http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=39578
Trilogy Software: High Performance Company of the Future?,
http://www.wiley.com/college/man/schermerhorn332879/site/student/ic/page00.htm
CNNMoney - Where are they now?,
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0910/gallery.40under40_where_now.fortune/5.html
Flexible working hours - overview,
http://tutor2u.net/business/people/workforce_flexible_hours.asp
http://www.wiley.com/college/man/schermerhorn332879/site/student/ic/page00.htm
http://www.fastcompany.com/36161/insanity-inc
