Odd Couples A 29-year-old and a 68-year-old. How much could they Randstad doesn't simply pair up people and hope it works. possibly have in common? And what could they learn There's more to it than that! The company looks for people Lfrom each other? At Randstad USA's Manhattan office, who will work well with others by conducting extensive in- such employee pairings are common. One such pair of col- terviews and requiring job applicants to shadow a sales agent leagues sits inches apart facing each other. "They hear every for half a day. "One question Randstad asks is: What's your call the other makes. They read every e-mail the other sends or most memorable moment while being on a team? If they re- receives. Sometimes they fin- spond 'When I scored the win- ish each other's sentences." ning touchdown, that's a deal Randstad Holding NV, a Pairing different killer. Everything about our Dutch company, has been us. generations together at organization is based on the ing this pairing idea since its work...and making it work! team and group." When a new founding more than 40 years hire is paired with an experi- ago. The founder's motto was enced agent, both individuals "Nobody should be alone." The original intent was to boost have some adjusting. One of the most interesting elements of productivity by having sales agents share one job and trade Randstad's program is that neither person is the boss. And off job responsibilities. Today, these partners in the home of both are expected to teach the other fice have an arrangement where one is in the office one week while the other one is out making sales calls, then the next Discussion Questions week, they switch. The company brought its partner arrange- 9-18 What possible OB topics do you see in this story? Explain ment to the United States in the late 1990s. But when it began 9-19 What do you think about this pairing-up idea? Would you be recruiting new employees, the vast majority of whom were in comfortable with such an arrangement? Why or why not? their twenties, it realized the challenges and the potential of 9-20 What personality traits would be most needed for this type of pairing different generations together. "Knowing that these work arrangement? Why? Gen Yers need lots of attention in the workplace, Randstad 9-21 What types of issues might a Gen Y employee and an older Frecutives figured that if they shared a job with someone more-experienced employee face? How could two people in whose own success depended on theirs, they were certain to such a close-knit work arrangement deal with those issues? get all the nurturing they required." That is, how could both make the adjustment Basier