Comprehensive Analysis of Amazon's Recruitment Policies and Processes

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's recruitment policies and processes. It begins with an introduction to Amazon's recruitment strategies, including on-campus and off-campus recruitment methods, and identifies the crucial role of HR managers within the company. The report then delves into the application of the David Ulrich HR model, outlining key HR roles such as business partner, change agent, administrator, and employee advocate. A significant portion of the report focuses on the challenges faced by Amazon's HR department, including workforce planning, recruiting the right talent, training and development, employee engagement and retention, and managing diversity in the workplace. The report offers solutions for improvement, such as workforce planning, employee engagement programs, training and development strategies, and diversity management. A timeline of actions is provided, outlining specific steps and achievable outcomes. The report concludes with recommendations for Amazon to improve its recruitment policies and practices, emphasizing the need for workforce planning, performance management, training, career opportunities, and adherence to fair hiring practices. The report also includes references and appendices with relevant figures on employee engagement, hiring history, and workforce growth.

RUNNING HEAD: RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 0
2020
Recruitment Policies and Processes
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RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 1
Introduction
Recruitment is the basic process of human resource management that seeks to attract the
talented personnel into the organization for the purpose of filling the vacant positions
(Greiner & Stephanides, 2019). Here, the report is based on the recruitment policies and
process of Amazon. The report has taken account the HR models for clarifying the role of HR
manager and the challenges faced by the HR department of Amazon. Further, solution for the
future improvement through the specific actions and the recommendations for the effective
handling of human resources into the company.
Brief Introduction of Case
Amazon is the e-commerce company that seeks to attract the competent personnel which
provide their expertise in the support centres and the process of the distribution and supply
chain. Amazon has been making the recruitment process more effective through the on-
campus placements and off campus recruitments which is held through their online website
or through the recommendations or referrals (TapChief, 2017). Moreover, the HR department
faces the recruitment issues or challenges in planning of workforce within the company. The
company has HR managers that play significant role in carrying out the various HR roles.
HR Roles
HR role is considered as the responsibilities of the HR manager which the manager is
expected to give into the organization. This can be seen from the David Ulrich Model that
describes the four HR roles which can be effective shifts from the strategic management and
the human resources. Further, there is HR business partners which effectively communicate
with the internal customers. Secondly, there are change that evolve the change and
communicate the same with the organization internally. The HR role is also in terms of
administrator as per the David Ulrich model in which HR plays the role of the undertaking
the various tasks. HR is responsible for the changes in the regulations and ensuring the safety
of the employees (Storey, et al., 2019). Further, the HR performs the role of employee
advocate in which HR is responsible for the protection of the interest of employees and take
the full charge of the employee satisfaction. Moreover, HR managers in Amazon have the
major role in improving the customer support which is expected to be the major role in the
HR functional excellence by acting as an administrator.

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 2
Challenges into HR Departments
There are different HR challenges faced by the organizations in the development of the
competent and talented personnel. Firstly, HR department can face the issue of workforce
planning in which HR manager faced the issues in the recruitment of the talented personnel
(Boštjančič & Slana, 2018). Moreover, Amazon as into the ecommerce industry, it seeks to
face the challenge in recruiting the right talent which fits to the requirements of the vacant
position in the company. Also, HR faces the challenges in the development of training and
development strategies for the performance improvement of the employees which can be time
consuming and fitting to the schedules. Further, Amazon has been facing the issues in the
training of the employees in which the company has faced various barriers in training of
employees through Career Choice in which the company faces the issues in dealing with
different kinds of people (Amazon Staff, 2020).
Further, HR can face the challenges in the engaging with the employees and also retaining the
employees which are the greatest asset of the company and are crucial for the highly
competitive labour market (Pareek, et al., 2019). However, Amazon has launched the Forte
and Connections which are the programs run by Amazon for the employee engagement and
contains the specific work-related questions which may be confidential and are opposed by
the employees (Kim, 2018). Further, HR department of the company specifically faces
challenges in managing diversity in the workplace in which it faces the issues in maintaining
the balance between religions, cultures and values of the different individuals. Also, the
hiring process is also been affected by this. The company specifically faces the challenges in
the meeting the expectation of the demographics within the society.
Solutions for Improvement
The challenges identified can be resolved through the appropriate solution which can be used
by the company for the further improvement. Amazon can use the appropriate planning of the
workforce in which the company can adopt the proper methods for the recruitment and
selection of the employees as per the skills and knowledge of the employees in the company.
Secondly, the company should maintain the employee engagement programs which can
create the sense of involvement and also making the employees dedicated towards their
respective targets (Downey, et al., 2015). Most often, HR managers need to make the good
hiring practices and appropriate retention programs that can lead to the reduction in the

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 3
employee turnover through the using of appropriate motivation technique and the facilitation
of several benefits and ensuring the productivity of the company.
In the light of the solution of the training and development strategy, Amazon can use the
training program for the improvement in their skills and also ensuring that the quality of
service is delivered which can increase the employee satisfaction. The company should
provide career opportunities to the employees in meeting their personal gaols (Narayanan &
Raina, 2018). Moreover, the company’s Career Choice Program is effective but it can
improve their effectiveness through the facilitation of educational programs and allowing the
employees to be efficient. Further, management of the diversity is also a good solution for the
challenges faced by the company. The company must involve inclusive practices for
managing the diversity in which the company can hire the diverse workforce for getting
different perspectives (Mone & London, 2018). The company should manage the diverse
workforce in an effective way through satisfying the needs of different section of the society.
Further, Amazon should not only make efforts for the employee engagement but also
ensuring the health and safety of the employees that can improve the employee satisfaction
and often leading to more profits for the company.
Timeline of Actions
The following is the timeline of actions to be undertaken by Amazon for the improvement in
HR issues identified within the company:
Actions Timeline Solution Achievable Outcome
Legal Compliances 1 Month Following the
employment
contracts and legal
adherence with laws
Protecting the
interest of the
Employees
Training and
Development
Programs
2 Weeks Career planning and
training programs
Skill enhancement,
job satisfaction and
productivity of
company (Noe &
Kodwani, 2018).

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 4
Workforce Planning 2 Months Retaining and
attracting the
competent personnel
Effectiveness of
recruitment
Retention Programs 3 Weeks Use of Motivational
tools and employee
engagement
techniques.
Reduced employee
turnover, work
satisfaction and
good corporate
culture.
Performance
Management
2 Months Monitoring of
performance through
appraisals and
particularly by 360-
degree appraisal
method (Adler,
2018).
Improved
performance and
increase in
productivity.
The actions for the challenges identified in terms of the recruitment policies and the practices
will require the appropriate timeline of the actions which are to be undertaken for the
reducing the challenges. Firstly, the company would comply with the relevant rules and
regulations which including the employment legislations which are crucial for the company
in order to protect the interest of the employees (Mone & London, 2018). Further, the
company will make the appropriate training and development programs and skill
enhancement opportunities through the program and monitoring of such programs will bring
job satisfaction. Further, the company will undertake the workforce planning in which the
company will make the efforts for attracting the talented personnel through the effective
recruitment (Valeva, et al., 2017). Also, the company’s retention programs will bring the
productivity to the company as it has the tendency to retain the talented personnel. Lastly,
performance management process through appraisal as the method of performance evaluation
for the improvement.
Recommendations
From the above analysis, it can be recommended that Amazon must make the proper
planning of the workforce and should highly be aware of the recruitment policies and

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 5
practices which can improve the productivity of the company. The company should make
necessary efforts for the performance improvement of the employees which can be done
through the performance management tools (Adler, 2018). Further, the company should
ensure the training and development of the personnel which in turn add to their skills,
abilities and knowledge of the employees. Also, the company should provide the career
opportunities to the employees through the personal development. Further, the company
should adhere with the recruitment policies into the hiring practices which can ensure in the
fairness and equality in the hiring process.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that recruitment is the essential process of the organization which
requires to be based on the fair recruitment and hiring process. Moreover, the HR department
faces various challenges in the hiring and managing of the workforce. The report is based on
the key issues faced by the HR department of Amazon and also the solutions for the further
improvement of the issues identified by the company. Further, the report has discussed the
timeline of the actions to be undertaken by the company for the further improvement and
productivity of the company.

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 6
References
Adler, R., 2018. Strategic Performance Management: Accounting for Organizational
Control. London: Rotledge.
Amazon Staff, 2020. Training. [Online]
Available at: https://www.aboutamazon.com/working-at-amazon/career-choice
[Accessed 8 February 2020].
Boštjančič, E. & Slana, Z., 2018. The role of talent management comparing medium-sized
and large companies–major challenges in attracting and retaining talented employees.
Frontiers in psychology, Volume 9, p. 1750.
Comparably, 2020. Amazon Employee Engagement. [Online]
Available at: https://www.comparably.com/companies/amazon/employee-engagement
[Accessed 8 February 2020].
Downey, S., van der Werff, L., Thomas, K. & Plaut, V., 2015. The role of diversity practices
and inclusion in promoting trust and employee engagement. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 45(1), pp. 35-44.
Greiner, B. & Stephanides, M., 2019. Subject pools and recruitment. In Handbook of
Research Methods and Applications in Experimental Economics. s.l.:Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Kim, E., 2018. Amazon employees start their day by answering a simple question about
work. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/30/amazon-employee-reaction-to-hr-programs-
connections-forte.html
[Accessed 8 February 2020].
Mccracken, H., 2019. Meet the woman behind Amazon’s explosive growth. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/90325624/yes-amazon-has-an-hr-chief-meet-
beth-galetti
[Accessed 8 February 2020].
Mone, E. & London, M., 2018. Employee engagement through effective performance
management: A practical guide for managers. s.l.:Routledge.

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 7
Narayanan, S. & Raina, D., 2018. Effect of Primary Dimensions of Workforce Diversity on
Employee Engagement: A Literature Review. International Journal of Mechanical
Engineering and Technology, 9(3).
Noe, R. & Kodwani, A., 2018. Employee Training and Development, 7e. s.l.:McGraw-Hill
Education.
Pareek, A., Mohanty, S. & Mangaraj, S., 2019. Systematic Review on Employee Engagement
and its Impact on Employee Retention. Training & Development Journal, 10(2), pp. 125-133.
Romano, B., 2019. Amazon tops 53,500 local employees as it begins nationwide hiring push.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-tops-53500-local-
employees-as-it-begins-nationwide-hiring-push/
[Accessed 8 February 2020].
Storey, J., Ulrich, D. & Wright, P., 2019. Strategic Human Resource Management: A
Research Overview. s.l.:Routldge.
TapChief, 2017. Everything You Need To Know About The Amazon Recruitment Process.
[Online]
Available at: https://www.tapchief.com/blog/amazon-recruitment-process/
[Accessed 13 February 2020].
Valeva, S., Hewitt, M., Thomas, B. & Brown, K., 2017. Balancing flexibility and inventory
in workforce planning with learning. International Journal of Production Economics,
Volume 183, pp. 194-207.

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 8
Appendices
Figure 1 : Amazon Employee Engagement
Source: (Comparably, 2020)
Figure 2: Amazon’s Hiring History
Source: (Mccracken, 2019)

RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND PROCESS 9
Figure 3: Growth of Amazon’s Local Workforce
Source: (Romano, 2019)