Name: Darpan Choudhary

Roll no. PGPGC202100112

Section: B
SG Cowen: New Recruits
Following are my learnings from the SG Cowen case study discussion in class.
Mistakes in the Hiring process and its consequences
The two most significant mistakes possible in the recruitment process are "Hiring the wrong
person" and "Not hiring the right person". Therefore, identifying the individuals aligning with
the vision and cultural fit of the company is crucial. In the case of SG Cowen, the recruitment
cell needed to select the candidates who loved the work, were self-starters and were passionate
about SG Cowen's niche scope. It was also vital for them to hire candidates that wanted to stay
within the organisation for extended periods. They had to avoid individuals who wanted to ride
the coattails of SG Cowen's niche expertise in the market to switch over to more prominent
organisations. However, failure to prevent these mistakes could potentially sabotage an
organisation's Leadership Pipeline and ultimately cause a shortage of higher management
leaders for the company. We can observe a similar phenomenon for tech giants such as IBM and
Infosys. They struggled to fill the top position in their respective organisations due to a lack of
competent candidates.

Types of candidate assessment

There are primarily three assessment approaches employed by the hiring team, i.e.
Judgment-based, Statistical-based and Hybrid. Each method entails some strengths and
weaknesses. A judgement-based analysis is considered flexible compared to the statistical
methodology as there is always room for improvisation and close adjustments. However, one
caveat attached to the process is Bias, which is detrimental to candidates' quality. The presence
of groupthink can also aggravate the problem for the recruiters. The statistical method focuses
on developing a standard objective assessment (free of bias) of the candidate. However, there
have been reports of algorithms displaying discriminatory behaviour against certain groups
because of the inherent bias of the developer. SG Cowen used the hybrid strategy, which
combines the Judgment-based and Statistical-based processes in varying degrees. The
concentration of each process can be altered based on the workforce stream; for example, one
could give a higher weightage to the Judgement-based method while deciding upon hiring
summer interns for full-time jobs. Since people of the organisation have worked closely with the
individual and can provide personalised suggestions for the recruitment process.

Potential employee's perspective

The recruiters also need to put themselves into students' shoes applying for the company to
attract the right junta. The communication of their position should be clear and should reach the
suitable candidates. For SG Cowen, they wanted employees that were passionate about the niche
space of their company. Hence, they portray themselves as a respectable firm focused on
working on projects related to Health, technology and growth sectors.