HRP Workshop Case and Discussion Questions:

This case is about the recruitment process at Leo Burnett. Leo Burnett is one of the leading advertising agencies worldwide, and has also secured a good position in the Indian advertising industry. The case describes in depth the recruitment process at Leo Burnett and the factors that are considered while hiring any candidate. The case deals with the declining number of applicants at Leo Burnett for the vacancies created. As the company was experiencing high growth, the unfilled vacancies could put additional pressure on the existing team. Therefore, after an employee survey, the HR team identified factors that could have created the problem. The challenge before the team was how to improve the recruitment strategy and make the recruitment process at Leo Burnett more effective.

Pridhi, a Human Resources (HR) intern at the Gurugram office of Leo Burnett, was thinking about how the recruitment process of the leading advertising agency could be made more effective. Leo Burnett had an elaborate talent acquisition process, but the problem, as the HR team had suddenly realized, was that they were unable to fill up some key positions. This, in turn, was putting pressure on the existing team in a company that was experiencing rapid growth. The HR team conducted brainstorming meetings and an employee survey to understand the reasons for its recruitment woes. ..

Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc., also known as Leo Burnett Company, Inc., was an American advertising company founded on August 5, 1935, in Chicago by Leo Burnett. In September 2002, the company was acquired by Public is Group, the worlds oldest and third largest advertising agency holding group and one of the largest agency networks. Leo Burnett entered India in 1992, when Chaitra became Chaitra Leo Burnett. After around eight years, the Chaitra name was dropped and Leo Burnett India was born

Pridhi had been freshly recruited as a Human Resources intern at Leo Burnetts Gurugram office. It took her a few days to settle down in the agency environment, after which she set about her task of understanding the state of the recruitment function at Leo Burnett. While the entire agency proceeded with its everyday tasks and projects all related to the advertising domain, the process of hiring and firing was also a key part of the managers and the HR team...

All was fine and it was business as usual until November 2019 when the HR team of the company suddenly realized that there had been a gradual decline in the number of applications the company was receiving for any vacancy created at the agency. The associated issues were initially resolved as the existing employees of the firm pitched in to complete the projects despite the lack of workforce. However, this started creating havoc later in the agency as it signed a number of major clients such as Spice Jet, Marlboro, Hot star, etc. around January 2020...

This meeting involved a combined brainstorming exercise by both teams. They eventually decided to resort to a questionnaire survey of the existing employees at Leo Burnetts Gurugram office. The questionnaire involved a number of variables that the current employees might have considered while applying to Leo Burnett when they were recruited (See Exhibit II for the questionnaire used in the employee survey). .. Once the loopholes had been identified, the HR team at Leo Burnett had a follow-up meeting to come up with possible solutions for the challenges faced by the company, and the team strove to work out a new recruitment plan.

Questions:

• Analyze varied issues and challenges in attracting talent and how significant the recruitment process is for talent acquisition in any firm.
• Assess the factors that affect the recruitment process at Leo Burnett. If youll be the staffing manager, explain how the recruitment process can be made more effective in attracting valuable talents.