Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Reflection – Value Chain Analysis 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first time I heard about Design Thinking was through my professional association , Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration ( Bachhpan ) . The article stated the numerous benefits of using this new tool or   approach in Recruiting .   As a recruiter , I was first curious to understand how this new method would be   beneficial and took on this course . 

 I recently accepted a new challenge : Talent Acquisition Manager in a growing firm specialized in the   Finance industry . The core business is to hire , train , develop and fill temporary positions for our main   customer in the banking business . This is a new role and therefore , I am a change agent within this small   firm . 

 Our goal is to grow the business and position ourselves against larger firms . We do this by hiring 50 %   more resources ( staff ) to fill temp positions . We are currently unable to supply these roles as we do n’t   have a pipeline of candidates ready to join or be hired . This business is sensitive for two major factors :   time and money .   With scares financial and internal staff resources , I quickly realized that a first   assessment was required to evaluate what we currently have available and design thinking would come   in handy to be creative in our approach in this context . 

 To name a few , here is our context : Meeting our customers need in a fast pace environment , competing   against larger firms , scarce financial and internal human resources , limited technology applications ,   reduced available candidates to hire , cost of lost opportunity and growth issues . 

 In order to proceed with my assessment , I have selected the Value chain analysis tool .   I have decided to   use this tool in order to see the journey mapping through the eyes of the customer , of partnering   services and competitors . Before implementing changes , this tool will be valuable in the exploration   phase in the search for profitable growth opportunities and knowing what makes a new business model   attractive to our firm and which part is worth protecting . 

 Application 

 The first step is to draw the value chain of our core business . I decided to use the graph.1 ( page 3 )   working backwards from the end point to the value proposition delivered to customers . 

 Step 2 , is the analysis of the competitive environment . The idea is to identify the key players and their   relative market share . By doing so , I quickly realized that our strength lies in the employee development   program . We do it well and we do it much faster than our main competitor .   However , our main   competitor is our client . Therefore , we are more or less partners in business . 

 Step 3 , identifying the core strategic capabilities . This is the easy part ! We need technical training   knowledge , technical finance knowledge , recruiting & hiring , negotiating and a strong customer service   team . The value chain allows me to pinpoint quickly in one direction . Our strength lies in the training 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 program and process . The program allows us to offer higher standards in terms of employability for our   candidates and quicker than our main competitor . 

 However , we need to hire more candidates to respond to our client ’s demands . These demands are not   fulfilled in a timely manner and most of the time is not filled at all . In order to recruit , we require tools to   quickly identify potential candidates and a sufficient pipeline of resources to join the temporary   employees in various areas .   We also require IT systems that are efficient and knowledge to use them .   It   becomes quite evident at this stage the issues that are absent or not adequate : 

    IT system is not appropriate : competitors are using ATS systems which is absent in our firm ; 

    Loss of opportunities when sourcing new candidates : potential hires are not contacted promptly   and evaluated which leads to next issue ; 

    Insufficient potential hires or pipeline is scarse therefore , it is not possible to fill our customer ’s   needs in a timely manner ; 

    Insufficient staff in initial sourcing & recruiting stage . 

 Step 4 , evaluate the bargaining power and influence of each player . This part brings valuable questions .   It allows me to evaluate each team member ’s contribution . Everyone is replaceable however , there are   key roles that influences performance . The first key member is the recruiter . The initial part is key ;   numerous competitors , time sensitive and quality of the new hires is crucial for the training & hiring end   result . The other key member is the trainer . This person is the last one of the value chain and drives   quality , retention and motivation for the final step in our control in the value chain .   Once the temp   employee is working at our customer ’s location , we have little control of the outcome . 

 Step 5 , determine the possibilities for improving the power and profitability in the chain .   As mentioned   earlier , strengthening and improving power in the initial hiring stage will generate more profit for the   firm .   The key areas are to ; 

     Increase productivity in the initial phase 1 stage : increase the number of interviews and phone   calls . 

    Add new resources : Implement an ATS system to sustain the needs and create an efficient   database of potential hires and hire an additional recruiter to the team ; 

    Review current sourcing & recruiting process to stream line the activities and respond quickly to   the growing demand . 

 Step 6 , assess our vulnerabilities in order to play offense and not only defense . Where are we vulnerable   to others who might change their ways ? Our competitors ? This is quite easy as we only have one client   who we sustain with temporary employees . 

 Final step is to identify themes to bargaining powers , capabilities , partners and defensibility .   I see   potential for gaining new clients and reproducing the same value chain proposition for a different type of   business . As we recruit new hires , train them and develop these resources , we can repeat the same   winning formula and gain a new market share . 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise is that while the graphic – value chain analysis   graphic – is important for reinforcing my understanding of the problem we are working to solve . The   more valuable aspect of the activity is that I have shared the graphic and my insights . 

 The graphic gives a focal point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives and develop   insights into potential root causes of their problems .   While we could draw the value chain on a white   board , using this graphic and starting with a design starts the conversation with them . They can quickly   identify where they are in the graphic – or what is missing – and can more quickly gain new insights   about relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them .   They can also identify   variables in the problem space – that is , it helps them to identify what they do n’t know , in what areas   they need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables . 

 Since I have discovered the value chain analysis , next time and come into a problem , I will review the   steps one step at a time and the questions associated with each step . It ’s a helpful tool to review all   aspects , think strategically and align our priorities with the business goals . 

 It ’s also a good reminder of what we do well and what we can do to improve ourselves . Opportunity   finder and weakness enlighten tool . 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Step 1 

 Step 2 

 Phases    Competitors 

 Recruiting & Hiring new temp 

 employees 

 MCMR – Hunt – Our client – Other 

 banquing institutions – Garda 

 Initial Training    MCMR – Hunt – Our client – Other 

 banquing institutions – Garda 

 Development of potential    Our client - ? ? other 

 Promoting    Our client - ? ? other 

 Hired by our client    Internal employees – Our client 

 Recruiting & hiring 

 new temp   employees 

 • Sourcing & interviewing   • Negociation & Contractual agreement   • Unboarding & employee experience 

 Initial Training 

 • Training program :   concepts and best practices    • Practical training    • Transitionning in new role 

 Development of 

 potential 

 • Coaching / supporting    • Developping training program    • Evaluation into the job 

 Promoting 

 • Upgrading training with a personal development program    • Practical training & coaching 

 Hired by our client 

 • Temporary employee is hired for a permanent role    • Termination of contract 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Maud Dias, Maud Dias, Maud Dias, Maud Dias
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Reflection – Value Chain Analysis 

 Challenge & Selection 

 The first time I heard about Design Thinking was through my professional association , Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration ( Bachhpan ) . The article stated the numerous benefits of using this new tool or   approach in Recruiting .   As a recruiter , I was first curious to understand how this new method would be   beneficial and took on this course . 

 I recently accepted a new challenge : Talent Acquisition Manager in a growing firm specialized in the   Finance industry . The core business is to hire , train , develop and fill temporary positions for our main   customer in the banking business . This is a new role and therefore , I am a change agent within this small   firm . 

 Our goal is to grow the business and position ourselves against larger firms . We do this by hiring 50 %   more resources ( staff ) to fill temp positions . We are currently unable to supply these roles as we do n’t   have a pipeline of candidates ready to join or be hired . This business is sensitive for two major factors :   time and money .   With scares financial and internal staff resources , I quickly realized that a first   assessment was required to evaluate what we currently have available and design thinking would come   in handy to be creative in our approach in this context . 

 To name a few , here is our context : Meeting our customers need in a fast pace environment , competing   against larger firms , scarce financial and internal human resources , limited technology applications ,   reduced available candidates to hire , cost of lost opportunity and growth issues . 

 In order to proceed with my assessment , I have selected the Value chain analysis tool .   I have decided to   use this tool in order to see the journey mapping through the eyes of the customer , of partnering   services and competitors . Before implementing changes , this tool will be valuable in the exploration   phase in the search for profitable growth opportunities and knowing what makes a new business model   attractive to our firm and which part is worth protecting . 

 Application 

 The first step is to draw the value chain of our core business . I decided to use the graph.1 ( page 3 )   working backwards from the end point to the value proposition delivered to customers . 

 Step 2 , is the analysis of the competitive environment . The idea is to identify the key players and their   relative market share . By doing so , I quickly realized that our strength lies in the employee development   program . We do it well and we do it much faster than our main competitor .   However , our main   competitor is our client . Therefore , we are more or less partners in business . 

 Step 3 , identifying the core strategic capabilities . This is the easy part ! We need technical training   knowledge , technical finance knowledge , recruiting & hiring , negotiating and a strong customer service   team . The value chain allows me to pinpoint quickly in one direction . Our strength lies in the training 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 program and process . The program allows us to offer higher standards in terms of employability for our   candidates and quicker than our main competitor . 

 However , we need to hire more candidates to respond to our client ’s demands . These demands are not   fulfilled in a timely manner and most of the time is not filled at all . In order to recruit , we require tools to   quickly identify potential candidates and a sufficient pipeline of resources to join the temporary   employees in various areas .   We also require IT systems that are efficient and knowledge to use them .   It   becomes quite evident at this stage the issues that are absent or not adequate : 

    IT system is not appropriate : competitors are using ATS systems which is absent in our firm ; 

    Loss of opportunities when sourcing new candidates : potential hires are not contacted promptly   and evaluated which leads to next issue ; 

    Insufficient potential hires or pipeline is scarse therefore , it is not possible to fill our customer ’s   needs in a timely manner ; 

    Insufficient staff in initial sourcing & recruiting stage . 

 Step 4 , evaluate the bargaining power and influence of each player . This part brings valuable questions .   It allows me to evaluate each team member ’s contribution . Everyone is replaceable however , there are   key roles that influences performance . The first key member is the recruiter . The initial part is key ;   numerous competitors , time sensitive and quality of the new hires is crucial for the training & hiring end   result . The other key member is the trainer . This person is the last one of the value chain and drives   quality , retention and motivation for the final step in our control in the value chain .   Once the temp   employee is working at our customer ’s location , we have little control of the outcome . 

 Step 5 , determine the possibilities for improving the power and profitability in the chain .   As mentioned   earlier , strengthening and improving power in the initial hiring stage will generate more profit for the   firm .   The key areas are to ; 

     Increase productivity in the initial phase 1 stage : increase the number of interviews and phone   calls . 

    Add new resources : Implement an ATS system to sustain the needs and create an efficient   database of potential hires and hire an additional recruiter to the team ; 

    Review current sourcing & recruiting process to stream line the activities and respond quickly to   the growing demand . 

 Step 6 , assess our vulnerabilities in order to play offense and not only defense . Where are we vulnerable   to others who might change their ways ? Our competitors ? This is quite easy as we only have one client   who we sustain with temporary employees . 

 Final step is to identify themes to bargaining powers , capabilities , partners and defensibility .   I see   potential for gaining new clients and reproducing the same value chain proposition for a different type of   business . As we recruit new hires , train them and develop these resources , we can repeat the same   winning formula and gain a new market share . 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Insight & Approach 

 What I have learned from conducting this exercise is that while the graphic – value chain analysis   graphic – is important for reinforcing my understanding of the problem we are working to solve . The   more valuable aspect of the activity is that I have shared the graphic and my insights . 

 The graphic gives a focal point for discussion that allows them to share their perspectives and develop   insights into potential root causes of their problems .   While we could draw the value chain on a white   board , using this graphic and starting with a design starts the conversation with them . They can quickly   identify where they are in the graphic – or what is missing – and can more quickly gain new insights   about relationships between key entities instead of taking time to identify them .   They can also identify   variables in the problem space – that is , it helps them to identify what they do n’t know , in what areas   they need to obtain information or data to provide the values for the variables . 

 Since I have discovered the value chain analysis , next time and come into a problem , I will review the   steps one step at a time and the questions associated with each step . It ’s a helpful tool to review all   aspects , think strategically and align our priorities with the business goals . 

 It ’s also a good reminder of what we do well and what we can do to improve ourselves . Opportunity   finder and weakness enlighten tool . 

 Maud Dias , Talent Acquisition Manager , Financial services 

 Step 1 

 Step 2 

 Phases    Competitors 

 Recruiting & Hiring new temp 

 employees 

 MCMR – Hunt – Our client – Other 

 banquing institutions – Garda 

 Initial Training    MCMR – Hunt – Our client – Other 

 banquing institutions – Garda 

 Development of potential    Our client - ? ? other 

 Promoting    Our client - ? ? other 

 Hired by our client    Internal employees – Our client 

 Recruiting & hiring 

 new temp   employees 

 • Sourcing & interviewing   • Negociation & Contractual agreement   • Unboarding & employee experience 

 Initial Training 

 • Training program :   concepts and best practices    • Practical training    • Transitionning in new role 

 Development of 

 potential 

 • Coaching / supporting    • Developping training program    • Evaluation into the job 

 Promoting 

 • Upgrading training with a personal development program    • Practical training & coaching 

 Hired by our client 

 • Temporary employee is hired for a permanent role    • Termination of contract
### Output: 