Question

You joined Digitech in Cambridge as the Chief Innovation Officer four years ago, and since then the company has been undergoing significant changes. Although known for its computer software, with a worldwide reputation for a smaller company, the leadership has been looking to expand the work in the social sector. You have been actively searching for ways that Digitech could get more involved with public-private partnerships and the board has proposed a wide variety of initiatives from promoting computer literacy in the US public school system to improving technology access in developing countries. You and the board have decided to create a new position to help you start and manage these initiatives, Director of Public and Non-Profit Partnerships. However, you have been having a hard time finding someone to lead the new department. A couple weeks ago, you ran into another parent, Jordan Webb at a fundraiser for your child’s pre-school. Jordan is finishing a graduate degree, but previously worked for one of your rivals, Alpine Technology, as the Manager for International Business Strategy. Jordan really wants to stay in the Boston area due to family ties and seemed enthusiastic about a potential job leading public-private partnerships at their old company. Because of this enthusiasm, you thought Jordan might be a great fit for Digitech and after talking more they appear to be a perfect fit: experience in the tech industry, familiar with a similar sized organization, and additional education to support this interest. Jordan came through for informal interviews with your executives and everyone came away with a positive impression, wanting to offer Jordan the job as Director of Public and Non-Profit Partnerships. You called Jordan to share this news and promised to send a follow-up email to figure out the terms. You checked in with the Vice President of Human Resources (VP of HR) at Digitech to find out what kind of package you may be able to offer. She informed you that the going salary range for the incoming director working on nonprofit public-private partnerships would be around $70,000-$100,000, and she would prefer you to negotiate an agreement at the lower end of the range, since public and non-profit partnerships are unlikely to generate much revenue for Digitech. This would be a substantial pay cut from Jordan’s previous position with Alpine Technologies, which you are guessing would have paid in the range of $150,000 to $200,000. You told the VP of HR that although the salary range she presented seems fair, you may not be able to attract Jordan without providing additional incentives. The VP of HR responded by describing the standard benefits package offered to Digitech employees: 4 weeks of paid vacation plus select holidays off, full individual health coverage with all premiums paid by Digitech (family coverage requires employees to make a $350/month contribution; employees who waive all employer-sponsored health insurance coverage can get a rebate from Digitech for $5,000 per year). Digitech also matches employee 401k retirement contributions by 50%, for up to 6% of an employee’s base salary. Finally, Digitech does not give tuition reimbursement to employees. The VP of HR let you know that these standard benefits are offered to all employees and no exceptions can be made. When you pressed the VP of HR to increase the amount you can offer for salary, or to allow you to offer a year-end bonus, she was very unenthusiastic. She explained that year-end bonuses are tied to the profitability of each department, and since this new department would work primarily with non-profit or government partners, it is unlikely to be highly profitable. However, she did finally agree to authorize you to use up to $20,000 in extra money, to be offered at your discretion--as a signing bonus, to reimburse moving costs, or for whatever purpose seems most appropriate. You would prefer not to have to offer any extra money beyond the base salary, unless you think it absolutely necessary to convince Jordan to join you. Digitech has a very strong office culture and employees are expected to work out of the office in Cambridge so they can interact with colleagues, except when on business trips. The company was founded on the belief that making personal connections and being able to directly turn to colleagues for immediate, personal feedback are key pillars to success. Employees are given one flex day per week in the summer months (when they can work at home or reduce their hours by working extra hours other days of the week), but the rest of the year most employees work 5 days per week from the office. You did allow two employees to work from home one day per week last year (one had a new baby and the other was caring for an elderly parent); however, you are reluctant to allow this to spread too widely for fear your strong office culture may be damaged. You expect Jordan’s position to require travel once every month or so, to meet with partners in other locations. However, you are open to Jordan conducting most meetings via teleconference. You expect that this new position will be fairly demanding, especially in the first year, but you hope the opportunity to create a new department, as well as the prestige and focus of this new job, will be worth it. You want to make sure that the person you hire is really a team player. That is one of the reasons you are so excited to hire Jordan. Recently, one of the board members suggested you consider his best friend’s daughter, Robin, who is about to graduate with an MBA. At the advice of the board member, you hired Robin as a summer intern last summer, and were very unimpressed. You felt Robin lacked sufficient experience and was not very proactive, waiting to be guided in each activity. Robin also went on vacation halfway through the summer and left a project unfinished. You are a little worried that if you do not lock in someone else for the new job soon, the board member will push you to consider Robin more seriously; you would really like to avoid this if at all possible. Because Digitech’s lawyers need time to structure the public-private partnership agreements, you would prefer Jordan start in early to mid-July. However, Jordan has been so enthusiastic that if Jordan really wants to start immediately after graduation, you will try to be flexible.

You are now getting ready to send an email to Jordan to try to reach an agreement on the terms of employment. Prepare for and conduct your negotiation with Jordan. What would you do to convince Jordan to work for your company in your email?

Answer 1

In the email, to persuade Jordan to join the company, an indirect approach is preferred to communicate with him. The indirect approach is generally used to communicate to persuade others. Therefore, first, an appreciation to Jordan by explaining his ability and good remarks provided by other employees about him should be described in the email. Next, a detailed explanation is provided regarding duties and responsibilities. The travelling requirements and job requirements should be explained to him in the email. Tactfully, Jordan should be persuaded to accept this position by explaining the social service feature that this job provides to society. He should also be communicated about the inability of public- nonprofit partnership to generate much revenue. But with this information, benefits obtained from the job should also be outlined such as offering at least $80,000 salary, paid vacation for 4 weeks, and selected holiday off. The email will explain benefits such as health coverage and paid premiums by Digitech Company, family coverage, and a retirement benefit that is up to 6 percent of the salary of an employee. The email communication will compare the salary and benefits provided by Digitech Company with the company that Jordan worked previously. Jordan should be reminded that not only he can fetch good perks and other benefits by working as a director in Digitech Company, but he can also contribute to society’s development as well

To motivate him more, a provision of giving him extra $20000 money should be included in the email. These benefits communication through email and description of a social angle of work can certainly motivate him to join the organization. Apart from these monetary benefits, positive attributes of the work culture of the company should also be communicated to him such as a friendly work atmosphere, fair compensation, equal opportunity for career development, team work spirit, etc. He should also be provided information about flex day provided in the summer months for employees. These tactics can certainly persuade Jordan to join the company. Finally, the email should end by asking clear action from him, show appreciation to him once again for his competencies and closing the email politely. These steps ensure that Jordan is motivated to work for Digitech Company.