Pre-Negotiation Plan for New Recruit (Role of Recruiter)

Justine Mensik
September 20, 2014

1
In this negotiation, there are two people in the midst of a job interview. First,
there is the recruiter, looking to fill a position. Second, there is the candidate, who is
seeking employment. Together, the recruiter and the candidate are negotiating specific
terms of an employment contract.
There are eight issues to be negotiated as the recruiter. In order of importance, my
issues are: offering a salary of $42,000, job assignment in Division A, 5 days of vacation
time, plan E insurance coverage, an August 1 starting date, a 2% bonus, to locate the
employee in San Francisco, and 60% of moving expenses covered. Determining this
order is part of the 3
rd
step of the planning process, where one party to the
negotiation determines which issues are most important and which are less
important. I asked myself, What is most important?, What is second in importance?
and so on. There are a number of issues facing the other party. At the time of the
interview, this particular employee could be new to the workforce, or have been
unemployed for quite some time. From one perspective, he/she could be eager to find
employment, and will adopt a moderate negotiating stance. On the other hand, he/she
could be coming into the interview with firm expectations and will not be as willing to
budge. This particular candidate may possess information about current employees in
their desired position, and may believe that he/she is entitled to the same treatment. As
the recruiter, I want to take a moderate stance, and be willing to make some
concessions. I believe that if I take a cooperative and agreeable approach, the candidate
will likely mirror this cooperation and agreeableness. I dont want to approach this person
with hostility or belligerence, because this candidate could very well be a valuable asset
to our company. However, I do want to be firm with the issues of top priority. I dont
Pre-Negotiation Plan for New Recruit (Role of Recruiter)
Justine Mensik
September 20, 2014

2
want to give any indication that he/she will be able to argue for each issue and win I
would convey this nonverbally by sitting with arms uncrossed (so as not to appear cold or
closed-off), making solid eye contact (to indicate confidence and firmness).
For this negotiation, my best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA)
would be to hire another candidate. While I would be moderate in my negotiating stance,
there are only so many concessions I can make before it is no longer beneficial to hire
this recruit. There will likely be another candidate more willing to make concessions. An
additional BATNA would be to move someone from within the company to fill this
position. More specifically, I would hire an existing employee whose job is similar to the
open position. In doing this, it would minimize the training costs and the training time.
These are both strong BATNAs and with them, I believe I will have more control in
the negotiation and will be able to achieve most of my goals. I have set my collective
target point at 13,200, and my collective resistance point at -8,400. Ive chosen 13,200
because it is the absolute best contract I can get. I chose -8,400 for my resistance point
because it is the lowest I can go while still accepting the contract. For each individual
issue discussed, I will make my initial offer either marginally above or below the
individual target points. In doing this, I am attempting to create a larger bargaining
zone for the negotiation to take place in. This will create more distance between my
target point and resistance point, and the desired result will be a settlement point that lies
closer to my target.
I envision problems and roadblocks arising when negotiating salary, job
assignment and vacation time, because his/her desired outcome is likely to contradict my
desired outcome. Additionally, this candidate could come into this negotiation with very
Pre-Negotiation Plan for New Recruit (Role of Recruiter)
Justine Mensik
September 20, 2014

3
firm goals, and may be unwilling to compromise. In order to counteract these roadblocks,
I will remain set on being moderate and cooperative. If there is a particular issue of grave
importance to the candidate, and his/her proposed option is one that will not affect me
very negatively, I will be willing to make a concession. Reversely, if there is an issue of
grave importance to me, I will attempt to influence their resistance point by proving
that I seriously value it. If Im able to prove my seriousness, and it is not an issue of
major importance to him/her, it is likely to put pressure on him/her to set a more
moderate resistance point. For the negotiation, I will approach the candidate with three
questions: 1. What are your stances on these issues, and which are of most importance to
you? (this will help me to understand his/her issues of top priority, and learn his/her
reservation points) 2. Can you please validate why these issues are of such importance? 3.
If I am willing to make some concessions, are there any concessions you would be
willing to make?
Per the Dual Concerns Model, I will adopt a collaborative approach for this
negotiation. I have a moderate interest in achieving both substantive outcomes (getting
the deal done, winning the negotiation) and relationship goals (building a good
relationship with this potential employee). I want to be firm with my goals, so as to show
that I have control. However, I dont want to intimidate the candidate and scare him/her
away. Furthermore, if this person becomes an employee, I desire a pleasant working
relationship with him/her, so neither one of us will be uncomfortable in the work place. I
believe that the other party will also approach the negotiation with a collaborative
mindset (following the Dual Concerns Model). There are most likely some issues that
he/she will not want to compromise on, but there may be other issues where they will be
Pre-Negotiation Plan for New Recruit (Role of Recruiter)
Justine Mensik
September 20, 2014

4
willing to make some concessions. Additionally, I believe that this person will want to
maintain a good relationship with me, because we could be working closely together if
he/she is hired. He/she will want to show me respect, because I could very likely be their
superior.