How Would You Handle Recruitment and Training Challenges in Sales Teams?

Dear All, Greetings!! This is my first post on Citehr. I have heard a lot from my friends about this site. Now that I have my own system with internet access, I can regularly read on this site. I am reading certain subjects and finding the suggestions given really helpful. I am now a fan of this site. So, here I come to the point. I have one case, and I am putting forward my own points on what I have understood about it. However, I need all your support and guidance so that I can get the proper words to analyze the case and gain other perspectives too.

Case Study # 1

M/s Rainbow Ltd is a reputed manufacturer of cattle/poultry feed. The company is a 25-year-old establishment with branch sales offices all over India and a Head Office in Bombay. In one of their branches in Nagpur, there were four sales officers headed by a Branch Manager. At the end of the financial year 1999-2000, it was observed that the branch had achieved only 80% of their targets. The Branch Manager was asked to explain the reason for his poor performance.

He stated that two of his sales officers, namely Mr. A.K. Roy and Mr. P.N. Naik, had left during the year. He had hired two new people after a lot of searching. By the time these two salespersons were selected and joined, two months had passed. Therefore, he was short of two salespersons for about two months. As these two areas were unmanned for two months and sales were down, he had no choice but to send these two new salespersons immediately into the field without any formal training. These two new salespersons took some time to perform at the expected level. That is why his sales for the year suffered drastically.

He was further asked why these two people left the company. He replied that one of their sales officers, namely Mr. A.K. Roy, was a fresher and was not performing well in the market. Even though he was eager and enthusiastic, he was not able to convince his customers due to a lack of adequate knowledge of the products and the market. The Branch Manager had warned him in writing that if he did not improve his performance, appropriate action would be taken against him. He also sent some product leaflets and a list of big customers to him. In spite of this, Mr. Roy did not show any improvement. Thereafter, the Branch Manager, with a view to giving him one more chance, sent a second warning in writing as he was not able to visit his area. The Branch Manager tried his best to develop him, but it did not work. Therefore, finally, the Branch Manager had to call him to his office and ask him to resign.

Case Study # 2

In the second case, Mr. P.N. Naik was a new employee and a good performer. He was working well in the market and achieving his target. However, he had some problems with one of the big customers. The big customer had made a complaint against him to the Sales Manager at the Head Office. Mr. Naik was due for confirmation in November 1999. Though the Branch Manager had recommended his confirmation to the Sales Manager, he was not given a confirmation letter. The Branch Manager had inquired with the Personnel Manager regarding his confirmation. The Personnel Manager replied that the personnel department had not received the recommendation for confirmation. The Sales Manager said that since he had received a complaint about Mr. Naik from one of the big customers, Mr. Naik's probation should be extended. Accordingly, Mr. Naik's probation was extended. However, Mr. Naik did not accept his extension of probation letter and resigned.

Analysis: Case Study 1:

1) Faulty recruitment procedure.
2) No importance to Training & Development.
3) No employee development during his tenure of work.
4) No guidance when an employee is in the market for direct sales; the company is not bothered about its reputation either.
5) No follow-up on monthly reports; otherwise, they can stay updated on the shortfall of their sales.
6) No support for the new joiner.
7) A warning letter is not the only way to address the sales issue.

Analysis: Case Study 2:

1) Faulty communication system.
2) No confidence in the employee.
3) No good retention policy.

Regards,

Thank you for your posts giving your answers to the case studies and then seeking help. I recommend this approach to other students. If I am right, there is only one Case Study, though you have labeled them as 1 and 2.

Just do not consider what is happening at the Branch Level; kindly see what is wrong at the Organizational level. Should the Corporate Office have had policies about recruitment, selection, training, and monthly or quarterly performance reports? If they had one, would the 80% achievement of the target come as a surprise?

If the Branch Manager was aware of the complaint received from a customer about Mr. Naik, would he have recommended him for confirmation? If not, what has happened and who should be held responsible?

In an organization that I worked for, which had 6 operational sites, we had to send a weekly performance report to the Headquarters, and there would be monthly reports prepared and discussed at the directors' level.

Regarding the second post, there is what is called 'custom and practice.' If the company violates that, then they can run into difficulties as in this case. The way to overcome that is through communication and negotiations.

Beware that I am no HR expert.

Have a nice day.

Regards, Simhan

Learning and Teaching Fellow (Retd)

The University of Bolton, UK

Chief Advisor, Promentor-Consulting

Thank you so much for responding. This is what I was looking for, as my point of view on the case was different, and I certainly wanted someone to shed light on other perspectives for these cases. Experience matters more than the professional touch in that field; that is what I feel. I considered the first case as two case studies, as I thought employees were leaving the organization in two different scenarios.

What Went Wrong in Case Study #1

- The organization failed to have a proper policy for recruitment, induction (as employees' behavior was wrong towards customers), training, and development.
- Sales tracking of the employee and ultimately of the branch was not done on time, or the policies for reporting were not formulated. I think for salespeople, daily reporting is a must so that the variation against the target and achieved quantity can be viewed on a daily basis.

Case Study #2

- From what I read, the Branch Manager is not aware of Mr. Naik's complaint from the client to his Sales Manager, so in that respect, the communication system of the organization is faulty, as the Sales Manager did not report to the Branch Manager. The fault lies with the Sales Manager and the organization as a whole. Their appraisal policy is also not clear to the employees.

Case Study #3

Yes, I also think the company cannot suddenly change its policies without considering the important people in the organization. They should better communicate with employees and negotiate the terms and conditions of recruitment. Here, I feel the new recruitment terms and conditions that the organization has decided on are quite good compared to the old policy of recruitment.

Please correct me wherever I am wrong. I also need guidance on how to write answers for such case studies, including the tense and whether points should be made or paragraphs should be framed. My English is quite poor, so sorry if I am writing something vague.

Regards,
Vrushali