Read the Continuing Case at the end of Chapter 7 about Carter Cleaning Company and then answer the following questions.

In general, what can Jennifer do to improve her employee interviewing practices? Give examples of your recommendations. For example, should she develop interview forms that list questions for management and non-management jobs? Should she initiate a computer-based interview approach? Should she implement an interview training program for her managers, and if so, specifically what should be the content of such a training program?

Getting Better Applicants

If you were to ask Jennifer and her father what the main problem was in running their firm, their answer would be quick and short: hiring good people. Originally begun as a string of coin-operated laundromats requiring virtually no skilled help, the chain grew to six stores, each heavily dependent on skilled managers, cleaner/spotters, and pressers. Employees generally have no more than a high school education, and the market for them is very competitive. Over a typical weekend, literally dozens of want ads for experienced pressers or cleaner/spotters can be found in area newspapers. All these people usually are paid around $15 per hour, and they change jobs frequently. Jennifer and her father thus face the continuing task of recruiting and hiring qualified workers out of a pool of individuals they feel are almost nomadic in their propensity to move from area to area and job to job. Turnover in their stores (as in the stores of many of their competitors) often approaches 400%. Dont talk to me about human resources planning and trend analysis, says Jennifer. Were fighting an economic war, and Im happy just to be able to round up enough live applicants to be able to keep my trenches fully manned.