Recruiting Andrew Yard Case

Cara Slosson

MBA612

September 16, 2015

Lorne Thomas

Recruiting Andrew Yard (A)

Problem Statement: Joseph Rogers recruited Andrew Yard to fulfill the role of managing Ayoub Companies (AC) retail sector however he insulted Andrew Yard in the process by attempting to motivate him through compensation to join the company sooner than arranged.

Hypothesis 1: Joseph Rogers appears to have a true disconnect with emotional intelligence and understanding Andrew Yard’s motivation.

        In the reading, Andrew Yard clearly stated during the interviews that he would need to fulfill his contract with AJW prior to departing. The reason being was specific to Yard’s perception and how he wanted to be viewed by his soon to be former team and as a fulfillment to a previously agreed upon six month notice. It was important to Yard to leave on a positive note and in good standing with the company. Through verbal admission, it was made clear that Yard valued his existing role enough and wanted to portray high emotional and social intelligence with regards to his team. For Rogers, pressure was building up from outside sources such as the CEO and COO to fulfill the vacant role as soon as possible within AC. This pressure left Rogers feeling like he was in a bind and at risk for ruining his reputation of being accountable and efficient in negotiating hiring packages.

        With consideration for Yard’s hiring contract, Rogers mentioned accounting for any equity that Yard would miss out on by leaving the existing company early. He failed to consider Yard’s emotions in this situation as it was not the compensation that mattered, but rather the perception that his existing company would have of him if he left earlier than the contract established. Yard wants to be portrayed as a reliable, consistent, and an operative leader who genuinely cares about his team. The need for a new leader clouded Rogers’ judgment and ability to perceive Yard’s emotions. Additionally, it appears that Rogers is unable to understand and manage his own emotions as the situation presented a large enough challenge to him that he failed to consider the impact that such a proposal would have on Andrew Yard.

The Social Quotient (SQ) plays an integral part of the relationship between Andrew Yard and Joseph Rogers. The emphasis placed on compensation during the negotiation is a true disregard for Yard’s motivation in staying at AJW. The interpersonal relationship established between the two individuals is a delicate one as they maneuver the best negotiation package and thus, Rogers should effectively consider Yard’s emotions. As leadership and intelligence are a core requirement for such a high level position, Rogers should be trained and coursed in managing sensitive situations as he hires for high level positions at AC. ‘The skills of recognizing, caring about, and managing emotions are important in SQ’ and are vital in establishing a thoughtful and considerable hiring package (Clawson, 2001, pg. 7). The four components of social intelligence include ‘recognizing the emotions of others, listening, empathy and caring, and helping others manage their emotions’ were absent in the conversations between the two leaders (Clawson, 2001, pg. 8).

Verbal cues were provided from Yard in regards to his commitment and the importance of his existing contract, but careful consideration through his hesitation to commit or his acting of disinterest should play a part in Rogers’s observation. The ability to see emotions in others is essential in negotiating hiring packages and providing enticing contracts to the target individual. The capability of identifying what is most important to Yard could be easily accomplished through active listening. As Clawson mentions, ‘many don’t listen well because they focus only on content’ which is suggested by Brian J. Hall on Joseph Rogers in Recruiting Andrew Yard (A) (2001, pg. 8). As the early start proved beneficial to the company, Yard’s emotional profile was pushed to the side and the company’s needs superseded that of Yard’s.

Hypothesis 2: It may be that Joseph Rogers failed to appropriately calculate Yard’s departure package.  

        Andrew Yard was a high performing, experienced leader whom was presently leading AJW, a large furniture retailer in international segments. Presumably so, his existing compensation plan was sufficient to meet the needs of him and his family. His peers recognized him as being ‘widely respected for his knowledge and achievements’, but he was also referred to as ‘blunt’ (Hall, Bennett, & del Nido, 2012, pg. 2). From the start of negotiation and through the interviewing process, it was noted that Yard was open about the terms in which he would leave his existing company. Those terms included a six month grace period to allow for him to tie up loose ends on projects and with his team and also to leave the company on a positive note - a sign of respect for fulfilling the initial contract with AJW. The consideration on Rogers’ part was in regards to compensation and finding the right amount of money to persuade Yard to leave his company earlier than the six month period.

        During the negotiation process, Yard was offered the difference in what he would have monetarily if he didn’t leave AJW right away and Ayoub Companies would make up the difference. This difference would include equity and compensation; however Yard made it clear that this is beyond calculate-able. Rogers proceeded with modifying the numbers to find what he believed to be a ‘suitable’ rate of pay as well as corresponding benefits. Since specific information such as equity, benefits, and bonus plans were not visible on the dotted line at AJW, it was difficult for Rogers to calculate a sufficient incentive for Yard. His response to the incentive bonus was a polite ‘thanks’, but also exhibited surprise. It wasn’t until later that he mentioned the feeling of insult; this delay in vocalizing the feeling of insult could be due to the time taken to factor in the actual monetary value of him leaving his existing company early. Yard did, however, exhibit a great deal of self-regulation in which he controlled his feelings and impulses during the conversation where the offer came up (Goleman, 1998, pg. 98). Counter to that, Rogers failed to evaluate and persuade Yard through the appropriate amount of compensation.        

Hypothesis 3: The retail segment was managed by the COO, who was voicing the concerns for the retail business being under ‘critical juncture’ and thus, he could not perform his own role effectively and the cost of pushing Yard to start immediately was beneficial in the long run.

        The balance of cost played an important part in offering Yard additional compensation should he choose to join earlier than the six months already established. Though it was difficult to establish a compensation package based off the limited information provided from Yard, the COO was distressed; this resulted in him urging the need for a new leader as soon as possible. Despite the cost to the company, the need was identified as being more cost effective to provide additional incentive for Yard to join early so it does not cost the business any opportunities in the retail segment. As mentioned, ‘the focus of the company had been on growth’ and ‘the Bus Dev team had identified the largest growth potential in retail, the business group that was struggling the most’ (Hall, Bennett, & del Nido, 2012, pg. 1). This means that a cost benefit analysis shows that offering Yard $200,000 to start immediately is well worth it considering the potential losses and lack of growth would cost the company more money.

        By the COO managing the retail segment, his focus could not be placed completely on his core responsibilities. Based on Goleman, ‘effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence’ (Goleman, 1998, pg. 94); with regards to the COO being effective, the struggles in the retail segment appeared to be growing more prominent on the regular and thus, likely lacked emotional intelligence in his role as well as over the retail business. Since the retail business struggled under his advisory, it is likely that his emotional intelligence was weak and thus, pressured for a replacement.