CASE STUDY

ATTRACTING AND RETAINING NEW GENERATIONS

Cango Distribution $($not the actual name$)$ is a large, rapidly growing, multinational transportation logistics and delivery company. The company has administrative offices in Toronto and New York with $150500$ administrative employees, respectively. In addition, the company has delivery depots in over $200$ cities in North America $($as well as other depots around the world$).$ There are about $1500$ employees distributed in depots across Canada and another $6500$ employees across the United States $($and a total of about $30000$ employees worldwide$).$ Hiring for field operations $($e$.$g$.,$ linehaul drivers, couriers, dispatchers, customer service agents, data systems agents, customs brokerage agents, package handling$/$sorting$,$ warehouse operations, and so on$)$ is done at the local depots, although policies and procedures are developed at the head offices and recruitment is also centralized $($e$.$g$.,$ websites, advertising, and posting jobs$).$

Job listings are up $186$ percent in the transportation$/$logistics industry as a whole and, given the rapid growth of the company and industry demand, Cango will have strong competition from other organizations in recruiting new talent and the company expects the bulk of new hires to come from the $$Millennials$($i$.$e$.,$ those born between $1981$ and $1996)$ and the $$Generation Z$($i$.$e$.,$ those born after $1996)$ generations. In addition to the recruitment challenge, Cango is concerned about maximizing retention. Retention is an important concern because preliminary research suggests that Millennials and Gen Z are often seen as $$job hoppers.$$ For instance, according to the U$.$S$.$ Department of Labor statistics, most Millennials will have $10$ jobs by the time they turn $38.$ Expending resources to hire employees who stay only a short time is not cost$-$effective.

A related concern is the reputation Millennials have as the $$instant gratification generation.$$ According to a survey conducted by I Love Rewards,$347$two$-$thirds of millennial responders indicated that they want to be rewarded early and often for their individual efforts. Razor Suleman, the chief executive and founder of I Love Rewards, indicates that the expectations of Millennials will likely exceed the reality of entry$-$level jobs. Because Gen Z are particularly tech$-$savvy, they are particularly skilled at leveraging social media and other online resources to find jobs opportunities. All this leaves recruiters with the challenge of getting potential hires excited about the company without painting too rosy a picture.

Until now, Cango has left the hiring process to the local depots. However, the company is concerned that this has resulted in rather haphazard selection procedures which often result in poor hiring decisions. Cango wants to standardize selection procedures by implementing new testing procedures as well as structured interviews that would be used across all depots. The company hopes that the new selection procedures will not only improve its ability to select better performers but also reduce the likelihood of turnover among its employees.

Case Study Questions

Do you agree with the findings of the I Love Rewards survey and the comments by the chief executive and founder of I Love Rewards, Razor Suleman, concerning the motivation and attitudes of Millennials as compared to older employees? Why or why not? What about Gen Z$?$

What measures can Cango take to maximize the likelihood of attracting and retaining Millennial and Gen Z employees?

What part would the selection system play in these measures?