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Author: Osegard, Mark A

Title: Feasibility of Opening a Satellite Facility to Solve Difficulties in Hiring The accompanying research report is submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Graduate School in partial

completion of the requirements for the

Graduate Degree/ Major: MS Technology Management

Research Adviser: James Keyes, Ph.D.

Submission Term/Year: Spring, 2013

Number of Pages: 53

Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 6th edition

I understand that this research report must be officially approved by the Graduate School and

that an electronic copy of the approved version will be made available through the University

Library website

I attest that the research report is my original work (that any copyrightable materials have been

used with the permission of the original authors), and as such, it is automatically protected by the

laws, rules, and regulations of the U.S. Copyright Office.

My research adviser has approved the content and quality of this paper.

STUDENT:

NAME Mark Osegard DATE: 04/24/2013

ADVISER:

NAME James Keyes PhD, MS OSM Program Director DATE:

This final research report has been approved by the Graduate School.

Director, Office of Graduate Studies: DATE:

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Osegard, Mark A. Feasibility of Opening a Satellite Facility to Solve Difficulties in Hiring

Abstract

A rural insurance company needed the ability to find qualified applicants for positions

they were unable to fill at their headquarters location. The company opened a satellite facility to

alleviate these difficulties and solve the hiring dilemma they had encountered. The researcher

conducted interviews with seven qualified candidates to determine what role the new location

played in the candidate’s application. The researcher found that while location did have an

important role in the candidate’s decision to apply, compensation was ranked by these candidates

as most important.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my wife for the patience shown and encouragement she has given

me during this process. She is and always will be my best friend. I also would like to recognize

the efforts of Dr. James Keyes and Annie Confer for their support and guidance. Each of you

had a different role that helped me along my way. Without your efforts and support, this would

not have been possible. Thank you!

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Table of Contents

....................................................................................................................................................Page

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2

Chapter I: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7

Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 9

Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 9

Assumptions of the Study ......................................................................................................... 10

Definition of Terms................................................................................................................... 10

Limitations of the Study............................................................................................................ 11

Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 12

Summary ................................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter II: Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 14

Cause of Difficulties in Hiring .................................................................................................. 14

Alternate Options to Consider .................................................................................................. 17

Figure 1. “Global distribution of nearshore destinations and their division into three clusters”

(Carmel & Abbott, 2007, p. 43). ............................................................................................... 19

Figure 2. This figure displays the percentage of publications using the term near-sourcing and

derivatives (Carmel & Abbott, 2007). .......................................................................................20

Summary ................................................................................................................................... 22

Chapter III: Methodology ............................................................................................................. 24

Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 24

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Institutional Review Board Approval ....................................................................................... 24

Use of Measures ........................................................................................................................ 26

Question Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 27

Survey Question 1. Please specify the type of community you grew up in......................... 27

Survey Question 2. When considering the location you look for employment ................... 28

Survey Question 2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job .......................... 28

Survey Question 3. When considering a job offer, please rank ............................................ 29

Survey Question 4. What are some of the reasons for your application .............................. 29

Table 1. Professional Objectives Ranking. Displays the tool used to show the candidates

ranking for each of the professional objectives specified in question 3 ............................... 29

Survey Question 5. Are you familiar with where [the company headquarters] ................... 30

Survey Question 6. Would you have applied for the current position ................................. 30

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 31

Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 32

Summary ................................................................................................................................... 32

Chapter IV: Results ....................................................................................................................... 33

Survey Question 1. Please specify the type of community you grew up in............................. 33

Survey Question 2. When considering the location you look for employment ....................... 34

Survey Question 2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job .............................. 34

Survey Question 3. When considering a job offer, please rank ................................................ 35

Survey Question 4. What are some of the reasons for your application .................................. 36

Table 2. Candidate ranking of career objectives. .......................................................................36

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Survey Question 6. Would you have applied for the current position ..................................... 37

Cumulative Results ................................................................................................................... 37

Summary ................................................................................................................................... 37

Chapter V: Discussion .................................................................................................................. 39

Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 40

Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 41

Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 43

References ..................................................................................................................................... 45

Appendix A: Consent Form .......................................................................................................... 47

Appendix B: Interview Questions ................................................................................................. 49

Appendix C: Institutional Review Board Approval...................................................................... 51

Appendix D: Cumulative Results ................................................................................................. 53

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Chapter I: Introduction

An anonymous health insurance company, hereafter referred to as Insure You

Corporation to protect the confidentiality of the information provided, is located in a rural

community in Wisconsin. The company had trouble recruiting information technology staff to

work at its office headquarters. The company headquarters was located approximately 150 miles

from any major metropolitan area. The assumption the company entertained was that due to

their location, information technology staff was unlikely to move into the area. There also

appeared to be a shortage of information technology staff living in the area, given the lack of

qualified candidates, which made hiring new employees more difficult.

Insure You Corporation was a subsidiary of a clinic system and produced its own

software for the past 20 years. This software was utilized in every facet of the company, and

with the company’s staff, it handled all the day-to-day operations necessary to make the

company run. Due to the matured software and information systems architecture, the subsidiary

needed to explore the options to upgrade its software. While the software was efficient in its

processing of the current needs, the subsidiary had ambitions to branch out of the communities

served by its parent company.

The desire to expand would lead the company to serve many more members, potentially

expanding the current membership by 400%. These ambitions expanded the needs of the

insurance company beyond the scalable design of its current software and architecture. After

much deliberation, the insurance company decided to step away from its parent company’s

software development business model.

The company purchased proven software to ensure that its members would still receive

the same level of service, to which they were accustomed. The company’s leaders determined

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that concentrating on its core business processes would allow the company to expand quicker

than upgrading their own aging software. The purchased software did not come without its

difficulties. Since the company had maintained its own software for over 20 years, the amount

of data that needed to be converted when switching systems was not insignificant.

Management realized that this conversion was going to take a vast amount of resources

and with open positions in their information technology department; the company needed its

current employees to make up for the work that would be accomplished by employees in these

positions. These positions were open and although an effort was made to fill them, the company

was unable to find employees that were both qualified and seemed to fit within company’s

culture.

The conversion and implementation of the new software and architecture lasted

approximately 18 months and made the company consider other options with regards to their

recruitment strategy. The previous strategies still had not filled the company’s open positions in

the information technology department. This lack of staff forced the company to employ

contract employees who cost the company between double and triple the normal salary of a full-

time regular employee performing the same tasks. Since the company wanted to hire these

positions already, paying double or triple for the same tasks was seen as an avoidable cost.

The company was given a new idea for recruitment of information technology

professionals from a current employee. The employee, who worked remotely from his home,

believed the reason the recruitment was difficult, was a result of the rural location of the

company’s headquarters. That employee had moved to a less rural location and started working

from his home after working at the company’s headquarters for five years. The employee’s

manager approved the relocation because of the experience and knowledge he gained from

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working at the headquarters. His suggestion to solve the difficulties in hiring was to open a new

satellite facility in Hudson, Wisconsin. This would allow new employees to live in or around the

greater St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN metropolitan area (the Twin Cities), while still enabling

the new employees to commute to the company headquarters for important meetings. The

location also allowed the employee to work from the satellite facility to help new employees

become acclimated to the company and the tools used to accomplish their jobs.

After the Insure You Corporation implemented this new strategy and opened the facility,

the human resources department wanted to determine what enticed the new employees and

applicants to apply for these positions. They needed to find the reasons for the increase in

applications at the new facility to help understand the lack of applications at the company

headquarters. This paper described the interviews with applicants to the job in Hudson,

Wisconsin to acquire the aforementioned information and helped determine whether the new

hiring strategies were effective.

Statement of the Problem

The information technology department needed the ability to acquire additional staff to

keep up with the rising demands of Insure You Corporation’s software support. The company’s

backlog of development tasks were a result of the company’s inability to attract qualified

individuals to work for the company. Due to a lack of staff in the information technology

department, Insure You Corporation’s management had to prioritize work to perform functions

necessary to keep the company running.

Purpose of the Study

The company’s human resources staff needed to know whether the opening of a new

facility was the primary cause for the increase in applications it received once the positions were

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posted for the new facility. To provide the company’s information technology department with

more resources and attract more qualified candidates from the Twin Cities Metropolitan area the

opening of a leased office location was implemented in the city of Hudson, Wisconsin. To

determine whether this office location was the sole reason in more candidates applying, the

company needed to hear from the candidates directly to help get a better understanding of the

situation.

Assumptions of the Study

The additional staff positions were already in the budget for Insure You Corporation and

are therefore assumed necessary. The company’s human resources staff already determined that

hiring staff for these open positions at their primary office location was not feasible.

Definition of Terms

Insourcing. “Delegating a job to someone within a company, as opposed to someone

outside of the company” (Business Dictionary, n.d., para. 1).

Metropolitan Statistical Area. “Include[s] the county in which the central city is located

and additional contiguous counties (fringe counties), if they are economically and socially

integrated with the central county” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.,

para. 5).

Near-sourcing or near-shoring. “Relocating or locating operations in a neighboring

nation that offers some sought-after advantages…[including: lack of] cultural barriers, proximity,

[less] time-zone constraints and skill surplus” (Wise Geek, n.d., para. 2).

Outsource. Outsource is “to procure (as some goods or services needed by a business or

organization) under contract with an outside supplier” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., para. 1).

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Rural. “Any county not included in an MSA [Metropolitan Statistical Area] is

considered non-metro or "rural"” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d., para. 6).

Urban or Metropolitan. “An urbanized area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census)

with a population of at least 50,000 and a total MSA [Metropolitan Statistical Area] population

of at least 100,000” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d., para. 5).

Limitations of the Study

The results should not be generalized or applied to other companies even with similar

circumstances. The interviews were only conducted with candidates deemed qualified based

upon each candidate’s resume and a primary telephone interview. Candidates were not screened

for their compatibility with the company culture prior to their interviews with the researcher.

The candidates for these positions had applied for the new positions in Hudson, Wisconsin. The

answers given only reflect the views of those candidates. The sample size limits the ability of

this information to be generalized or relied upon to make any drastic changes with regards to

hiring strategies. The candidates may have felt pressured to answer in a way that the researcher

wants since they had not yet been offered a position at the company.

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Methodology

The researcher performed a secluded interview with candidates for positions at the

company headquarters after the formal interview process. The interview was conducted on the

same day as the formal interview, but the candidates were interviewed without either the hiring

manager or human resources personnel present to encourage them to answer more freely. These

candidates were selected by hiring personnel of Insure You Corporation. They were deemed to

be qualified candidates after the hiring manager and human resources personnel reviewed their

resume and conducted a primary telephone interview. The positions available at the new facility

were not for recent college graduates but rather favored candidates with five or more years of

experience.

A successful candidate had to show their expertise in several technical areas. The areas

that the hiring personnel deemed most important were gathering technical specifications for

projects, creating and refining functionality specifications, conducting the analysis and design,

programming, testing, documenting, assisting in implementation, and resolving of issues. Along

with the aforementioned skillset, hiring personnel attempted to identify the candidate’s ability to

fit in the company’s culture. As with any position offered by this company, the candidate’s

ability to check each of the boxes resulted in their recruitment.

For each candidate’s interview, the researcher reviewed the consent form with the

candidate to assure them that their responses would not influence the hiring manager’s decision

to hire that person. Each of the candidates was also informed that refusal to complete the

interview would not affect their candidacy in any way. Although none of the candidates

exercised their right to not be interviewed, it is important to note that they were offered the

option.

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The researcher conducted the interview in a closed office space to allow the researcher

and candidate to have more privacy than would be afforded in a cubicle. The time at which the

interview was conducted varied, since the formal interviews were not set up for a similar time for

each of the candidates. While most of the interviews were conducted in the early afternoon, two

of the interviews were conducted in the late morning. The interview was the last event to

complete for each candidate prior to leaving the headquarters. This was done in an attempt to

separate the researcher’s interview from the formal interview as much as possible.

Summary

To provide the company with more resources to complete technical tasks, Insure You

Corporation opened a new facility located near the Twin Cities. Finding that recruitment of

qualified employees seemed easier at the new facility, company leadership attempted to figure

out why the recruitment efforts were easier in this area. The researcher conducted interviews

with applicants for these positions to determine their motives for applying. To figure out

whether it was the location of this facility that enticed the candidates to apply, the interview

focused on reasons for the person’s application. The company will utilize this information to

help determine whether keeping the company’s alternate location open is necessary to obtain the

additional employees it seeks. A review of relevant literature helped explore other company’s

actions to resolve similar hiring issues and gave the researcher insight into alternate options the

company may pursue if the facility does not achieve the desired results.

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Chapter II: Literature Review

Insure You Corporation was unable to hire enough qualified personnel to fill open

positions in their information technology department. A review of literature conducted on

several aspects of this problem showed the recruitment of Healthcare professionals in rural

communities to be well documented and researched. These sources also described the programs

implemented and suggested programs used by other companies to address these concerns.

Another area of interest focused on outsourcing, as it would decrease the need of technical

personnel and allow the company to concentrate on its core competencies. This topic is

reviewed to ascertain its feasibility and to understand both the potential benefits and downfalls of

such a strategy.

Cause of Difficulties in Hiring

The difficulties experienced when hiring qualified professional employees by companies

in rural locations is not novel. Healthcare professionals were documented as being difficult to

recruit and retain at rural facilities (Daniels, VanLeit, Sanders, Skipper, & Rhyne, 2007). The

survey conducted by the researchers attempted to determine the cause of a professional’s

decision to work in a rural area. The study utilized quantitative measurements that verified the

significance of various factors within a tolerance of 0.05. This commonly accepted method

proved that a person who had come from a rural town or one whose internship, or practicum, was

in a rural community were more likely to be employed at some time during their professional

career in a rural area. The study also showed that rural recruitment efforts were bolstered by

student loan payback programs. Respondents who worked in rural communities were 190% more

likely to rate loan payback programs as important as opposed to those respondents who worked

in an urban community. Retention was boosted in rural communities with the following

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incentives: earnings potential and promotion opportunity, professional development, and

community appeal (Daniels et al., 2007). The study, while still significant in its findings, did

suggest a limitation that may have been skewed due to 89% of respondents being involved in a

rural internship. The overall findings suggested that professional staff may avoid opportunities

at rural locations based upon the perceived inability to advance their career as fast as they may

be able to advance in an urban or suburban location.

A similar study described the choices of location made by pharmacist students before

graduation showed a tendency for those students from rural communities choosing to work in

rural communities (Pearson & Andres, 2010). This study utilized quantitative analysis of a

survey conducted on graduating pharmacists in British Columbia, Canada. It suggested that

recruitment of rural high school students may increase the ability to fill pharmacist positions in

the rural areas. This was attributed to the student’s desire to live in a similar sized community as

they grew up in after their graduation as well as their desire to be close to family and friends.

One way the study conducted by Pearson and Andres (2010) differentiated from the study

conducted by Daniels et al. (2007) was that there was no significance found by Pearson and

Andres between a student’s rural internship and their choice to work in a rural community after

completing school. This does not necessarily invalidate the findings of Daniels et al. (2007)

since they conducted the research on persons who had already graduated and were working. The

difference may be attributed to the differing ideas of what students perceive the working world to

be and the reality of persons actually working. Another difference between the studies was that

the Pearson and Andres study showed a student’s personal relationship influenced location of

employment, while the other study indicated it was not a significant factor. Both studies found

that scholarships or loan payback programs were significant in the recruitment of rural

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professionals. The study by Pearson and Andres suggested that the recruitment of these

professionals was not a permanent solution however, as person’s receiving these benefits would

likely leave after completing their commitments or no longer having debt. While the recruitment

of healthcare personnel is necessary in all communities, it is not essential for information

technology personnel to be present in the rural community they work.

A review of workforce development networks was conducted by Gary Paul Green in

2003. These networks involve collaboration between employers and local community colleges

to give the employer better access to workers with the job skills that are needed for the positions

these employers hire. This study showed that employers involved in these networks were able to

spread the costs of training across the network, which decreases the individual employer’s risk

by sharing these costs with other employers in the network (Green, 2003). Although the

employer was also likely to lose employees to other employers in the same network, it was also

likely to gained more qualified workers from those employers as well. Involvement in a program

like this may allow a company to counter the effects years of outsourcing had on information

technology positions in the United States.

The effect of outsourcing on information technology positions showed that although there

was an increase in the amount of employees that were outsourced, information technology

employee jobs continued to increase domestically during the period of 1999-2006 (Chung &

Khan, 2012). An analysis of the job data indicated that although the differing information

technology positions varied in their demand, the overall trend was an increase in positions. The

lower level positions, software developer, were outsourced more frequently, leading to the

decrease in this sector. The increase occurred in application and system software engineer,

which is a similar classification. Due to the increased positions available, the authors concluded

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that there is a need for more training of information technology professionals in the United

States. The increase in demand was not mirrored in the supply during that same time period.

The Department of Education showed a decrease in the number of graduates for information

technology related fields from 2004 through 2007 (Chung & Khan, 2012). Since demand

increased and supply decreased, one may infer that information technology employees became

more difficult to find.

Alternate Options to Consider

The two opposing options that must be considered for a company with regards to its

information technology strategy is whether they should outsource the product or whether the

company should employ its own staff or insource within their company (Sako, 2010). “In the

1990s, as organizations began to focus more on cost-saving measures, they started to outsource

those functions necessary to run a company but not related specifically to the core business”

(Handfield, 2006, para. 2). So while outsourcing has been around since the early 1990s in the

form being discussed, each company must determine whether it fits into their corporate strategy.

Centralized companies have an easier time outsourcing than diversified companies,

simply because they typically have more similar processes (Sako, 2010). While there is no clear

cut rule as to which route a company should take, management should find the answer is evident

when considering the long-term strategy of their company. While companies currently have the

option to insource or outsource this may not always be the case. If the number of information

technology graduates continues to shrink as demand rises for this area, as discovered by Chung

and Khan (2012), the choice of whether or not to outsource may become a foregone conclusion

rather than an option. Any company considering these options needs to weight both the benefits

and risks of their choice. While companies continue to struggle with these choices, a third option

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has been employed by companies to mitigate some of the risk that arise with outsourcing, called

near-sourcing or near-shoring.

Near-sourcing is similar to outsourcing, but differs in that the personnel or the company

that is hired is located nearer to the company than with typical outsourcing. Many companies are

now advertising themselves as near-source potentially as a way to get away from the negative

connotations of outsourcing, brought on by some Indian companies and the great distance

between those companies and the company hiring them (Carmel & Abbott, 2007). “Cultural

alignment with the business firm is often more readily achieved through near-sourcing due to

human capital resources having a familiarity of the culture in which the business firm is located,

including proficiency with the language used in that culture” (Wise Geek, n.d., para. 2). This

option allows the company to benefit from the use of external resources to provide the service or

product, but the proximity of the company employed to provide the service allows for better

communication. The reasons for better communication due to proximity allow the two business

entities to meet more frequently and with greater ease. The distance between a company based

in the United States and its near-sourcing partner Canada or Mexico is certainly less than that of

the same company and an outsourcing company in India or China.

While near-sourcing employment still typically occurs outside the company’s country, it

does afford the luxury of keeping operations in a similar time zone as well as allow the company

to better communicate with the near-sourcing team. As seen in Figure 1, Abbott and Carmel

show the client clusters to graphically display the idea of near-sourcing (Carmel & Abbott,

2007). Near-sourcing in this context does not necessarily suggest proximity but rather similar

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Figure 1. “Global distribution of nearshore destinations and their division into three

clusters” (Carmel & Abbott, 2007, p. 43).

time zones. Carmel and Abbott also researched the prevalence and use of the term near-sourcing

in publications showed that before 2002 the term was rarely used but had gained popularity

through 2006, when the study was conducted. One company that utilizes near-sourcing is

German software company SAP (Carmel & Abbott, 2007). Whether outsourcing or near-

sourcing, the primary way work is specified and accomplished is through the use of service level

agreements (Goo, Kishore, Rao, & Nam, 2009).

Service level agreements (SLAs) are the contracts that describe the changes to the system

that the client company requested. These service level agreements contain scope and non-scope

items and the changes that are to take place. Sako (2010) described that companies utilize

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Figure 2. This figure displays the percentage of publications using the term near-

sourcing and derivatives (Carmel & Abbott, 2007).

service level agreements with both outsourcing and insourcing; however, it is much more

prevalent with outsourcing. Service level agreements can be effectively used to force a

contracted company to perform the changes to the specified levels as described in the agreement.

Both sides know what is expected of them but there is always some interpretation that is left up

to each side. However, the downfall of these agreements is that many “IT organizations lack

well-developed SLAs that can be used to effectively gauge and manage relationships and

activities associated with IT outsourcing” (Goo et al., 2009, p. 122). Even if a company has well

defined service level agreements, the management must prepare their company for outsourcing.

According to Sako (2010), some companies used outsourcing as a trigger to push

companies into changes. These companies had processes that differ but accomplish the same

tasks and need to be standardized. These companies attempted to use outsourcing to push the

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standardization through their diverse system as a way to force the differing processes to be

completed using the same tools. While this standardization is beneficial, it typically causes more

problems than it solves to push through changes in this manner.

One of the key downfalls of outsourcing is focused on the cultural and time differences

between the company and its outsourced location or assets (Kite, 2004). Due to these downfalls,

the near-sourcing has been becoming more popular as a way to still outsource the product or

service, but keep the product or service in the same or near same time zone where the large

cultural divide is not as great as found within a normal outsourcing operation. These potential

downfalls are not a problem for in-sourcing operations as they are done in the same location as

the rest of the operations (Kite, 2004). Although it is not specifically mentioned where or who

completes the task in near-sourcing, the idea appears to be solid. Kite describes near-sourcing as

bringing the best portions of both in-sourcing and outsourcing.

According to a study conducted by Lieberman Software Company (2011), companies

with more than 1,000 employees are more likely to outsource a significant portion of their

information technology than those with less than one thousand employees. The study did not

specify a definition of the term, significant, but rather left it up to both the reader and

respondents in their study. In fact, the percentage of small companies that outsource a

significant portion of their information technology was 30% while larger companies outsourced

their information technology 55% of the time. This means that companies with more than one

thousand employees were almost twice as likely to outsource a significant portion of their

information technology. This survey was given to five hundred information technology

professionals to help understand how their companies responded to their increasing needs of

information technology (Lieberman Software Company, 2011).

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The primary question that needs to be asked when creating a company’s strategy for

information technology is how it will affect their other business entities. The sole reason for

integrating information technology into a company is to allow other processes to be either

automated or run smoother. To be able to track an item or move through processes with a

minimal amount of involvement from personnel should increase efficiency which will allow the

company to run smoother. The seemingly simple question is one that researchers asked when

conducting their research into outsourcing (Han & Mithas, 2013).

Will the outsourcing of information technology reduce the non-information technology

costs? Han and Mithas (2013) found that companies that outsource information technology do

reduce their non-information technology costs. However, the extent to which companies should

outsource is the key. They found that keeping an internal information technology staff to work

with their outsourcing partners allowed the companies to better monitor the vendor performance

and allowed the company to work more closely with the vendors themselves. The investigation

concluded that the investment in both outsourcing and internal information technology is

complementary (Han & Mithas, 2013).

Summary

Obtaining professionals to work in a rural location is more difficult than hiring

employees in an urban location (Daniels et al., 2007) and information technology employees are

also becoming more difficult to hire (Chung & Khan, 2012). The two studies both suggest that

the problems in hiring seem to be a lack of qualified personnel to fill the positions. While the

lack of healthcare personnel issue does not necessarily suggest that the same problems have

occurred in the information technology department, skilled workers are difficult to find in rural

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communities that do not have the networks set up to sustain the needs of companies in these

communities (Green, 2003).

There are many risks and benefits with regards to the decisions made when choosing how

to source your information technology services. Whether to source the services from within your

own company or whether to contract with another company to provide those services is an

important question. While there are many considerations with regards to the benefits and

downfalls of each option, there is one key question the company executives must answer. That

question is to determine the extent to which each option will contribute to the company’s use of

information technology and how that usage will lessen the costs of non-information technology

positions (Han & Mithas, 2013).

Insure You Corporation has evaluated the risks and benefits of the methods in which they

will source their work. Determining whether their choices were effective in providing the

necessary resource and how those determinations will be made using the methods described.

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Chapter III: Methodology

The lack of qualified applicants for open positions in the information technology

department caused the company to change their recruitment strategy and open a new facility.

This facility, located closer to a metropolitan area, was opened in an effort to help solve those

staffing problems. The research method used to help gauge the effectiveness of the new hiring

strategy employed by Insure You Corporation was to interview candidates for the new positions.

Data Collection

The interviews with candidates of the new positions in the Hudson office were conducted

by the researcher after the formal interview process was completed. To conform to the

Institutional Review Board protocols filed for this research, the researcher was the only person

present with the candidate when the interview took place. This helped ensure that the candidate

did not feel his/her potential job prospects were affected by the answers given during their

interview. The candidates were also informed their participation was voluntary. Appendix A

contains the consent form given to each of the participants of the study. The questions asked of

each participant are located in Appendix B.

Institutional Review Board Approval

An Institutional Review Board review was required for this research due to the

involvement of human subjects. Due to this requirement, the researcher filed information about

the survey which included: the consent form, survey questions and information regarding the

methods for collection as well as the methods used to protect the information acquired within the

study.

The consent form contained relevant information about the study as it pertains to the

candidates. All information about how the answers would be interpreted was not described

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within the consent form to allow the candidates the ability to interpret the questions as they

perceived them. This was an important point of the study, since the researcher did not want to

persuade the candidates to answer in a way that supported nor contradicted the hypothesis in this

study. The hypothesis was that the location was the primary cause of the lack of qualified

candidates that applied for positions at the primary office location. The questions were not

written in a way to disguise this hypothesis, but to help the candidates give more genuine

answers. The researcher did not specifically mention how the answers would be interpreted.

The interview questionnaire was primarily designed to understand whether the

candidate’s would have applied for a similar position if it were located at the company’s

headquarter facility and by proxy whether the new location was the cause of the increase in

qualified candidates. Another intention of the survey allowed the researcher to understand the

type of community that the candidates grew up in as well as the type of community that they

wanted to work in. These questions formed a basis for understanding of whether the selected site

attracted most applicants as well as further exploring the primary intention of determining

whether the location of the new facility encouraged these individuals to apply. A further review

of the specific questions and their intentions was conducted later in this paper.

The methods for collecting the survey information were described in detail to the

Institutional Review Board for their review to ensure that the candidates or survey participants

were protected from any negative repercussions resulting from the answers or the lack of

answers provided during the interview process. These methods were designed in a way to help

both the Institutional Review Board and the candidates understand that any information disclosed

in the interview was protected.

26

The primary way the interviewee was protected was by limiting the dispersion of all

candidates’ answers until several months after the applicant was either offered a position or was

no longer being considered for the position. This method protected the specific individuals from

any negative reprisals by the hiring manager and human resources at Insure You Corporation.

Another way the information was protected was by keeping the results anonymous. The

individual survey results were not aggregated, but rather kept intact to help the researcher

understand the connection between answers in a specific survey. The names of the candidates,

however, were not placed on their survey, which allowed the researcher to review the answers

without attributing those answers to an individual candidate. Not only was this done to help

keep the candidates’ answers anonymous, but also a particular candidate’s answers had no

bearing on the outcome of the study.

The Institutional Review Board’s approval of these documents ensured the protection of

the candidates interviewed as well as the researcher from any negative implications of

conducting this study. The documents and the methodology therein formed the basis for

conducting the research in the methods described below.

Use of Measures

The researcher utilized several types of questions to better clarify the candidates’ reasons

for application. The quantity of interview questions was kept short with the intention of

obtaining the most data possible, while minimizing the amount of time a candidate had to spend

in an interview with the researcher. The survey was created by the researcher to investigate the

problems encountered by the subject company. The actual questions were written and developed

to obtain a variety of information as described below. There were seven questions asked of the

candidates. One ordinal question was asked for the candidates to rank a list of characteristics

27

important to their career. Two questions offered the respondents a yes/no option. Two

additional questions offered the candidates two options with regards to the community size they

grew up in and the community size they intended to work in. One question utilized a Likert

Scale and was used to determine the candidate’s resolve in obtaining a position in the type of

community they desired to work in. The remaining question allowed the candidate to respond

freely to help the researcher better understand any unlisted reasons the candidates applied. An

analysis of each question better described the researcher’s intention and reasons for asking each

individual question.

Question Analysis

Survey Question 1. Please specify the type of community you grew up in.

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

The first question focused on the candidate’s hometown. Determination of the

candidate’s hometown allowed the researcher to understand where the majority of candidates

grew up and could later be utilized by Insure You Corporation to focus recruiting efforts in the

area that is most likely to produce results. Another purpose for this question was to help the

researcher understand a link, if any existed between the areas candidates grew up and the area

they preferred to work. While this link, if it existed was not likely to be significant, due to the

low number of candidates expected to be interviewed, it provided Insure You Corporation with

some insight on this matter.

28

Survey Question 2. When considering the location you look for employment, how would you

classify the type of community?

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

Survey Question 2 was direct in that it was only designed to ascertain the size of the

community the candidate wanted to work in. The home office or headquarters of Insure You

Corporation was located in a rural community, whereas the new facility was located in an urban

community. This question was designed to assess the candidates’ hopeful area of employment,

while the next question asked about the reality of a job offer.

Survey Question 2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job in an [urban/rural]

community if you were offered a position (1, not likely – 5, quite likely)?

This question focused on how likely a candidate would be to accept a job in an area they

did not prefer to work. The question asked about the likelihood of accepting a job in the

opposite type of community that the candidate indicated in the previous question. If the

candidate answered that they intended to work in an urban community, this question asked how

likely the candidate would be to accept a position in a rural community. It was asked to

understand how much location played a role in the candidates’ choice to accept a position.

Answers ranged from one to five, with a score of one indicating the candidate would not likely

accept a position outside their preferred community and rating of five showing a willingness to

accept the position regardless of the candidate’s preferred area. It could also be utilized to

determine the candidate’s perceived job prospects. Continuing the focus on location, the

candidates were asked to review a list of items and rank their importance.

29

Survey Question 3. When considering a job offer, please rank the level of importance of the

following.

___ Promotional Opportunities

___ Location

___ Compensation

___ Company reputation

___ Developmental Opportunities

The research asked the candidates to rank their answers which allowed each candidate the

opportunity to give valuable input about the importance of specific professional objectives.

Some of the items listed were taken from analysis done in Chapter II about why persons do not

want to work in rural communities. The answers given on this question were seen as highly

valuable as it was used to interpret the needs of the candidate and allowed the company to focus

on those needs while recruiting staff in the future. Given the researcher’s perceived importance

of this question, Table 1 was utilized to display the answers given by candidates on this question.

Promotions Location Compensation Reputation Development

? ? ? ? ?

Table 1. Professional Objectives Ranking. Displays the tool used to show the candidates

ranking for each of the professional objectives specified in question 3.

Survey Question 4. What are some of the reasons for your application for the current

position?

This question allowed the candidate to give any reason they deemed important for

applying to the position. The researcher hoped to find a trend in the answers that helped Insure

30

You Corporation in its recruitment efforts or understanding of the current problems with lack of

qualified candidates faced by Insure You Corporation. The expected results of this question

provided valuable insight to Insure You Corporation and their recruiting department depending

on the answers given.

Survey Question 5. Are you familiar with where [the company headquarters] is [located]?

o Yes

o No (I will show the person on a map where it is)

The researcher planned that all interviews would be conducted at the new office location.

After the approval of this interview questionnaire by the Institutional Review Board, the hiring

manager and human resources personnel at Insure You Corporation decided to hold the

interviews at the company headquarters. As a result of this change in venue, the researcher did

not ask this question in the interview. Its results would not have provided any beneficial

information.

Survey Question 6. Would you have applied for the current position if it were only available

[at the company headquarters]?

o Yes

o No

A candidate’s answer to this question helped Insure You Corporation understand whether

the lack of qualified candidates were a result of the candidate not knowing about job

opportunities at the headquarters. It also helped determine whether the headquarters location

was appealing to this perspective employee.

31

Data Analysis

For each of the questions listed, the researcher utilized the following techniques to collect

as much data as possible during the short interview. The researcher typed the answers to the

questions and recorded the candidates’ perceived importance when applicable. A follow-up

discussion was attempted when the candidates seemed interested in revealing more than what the

question asked. While the researcher attempted to clarify answers, additional questions,

unrelated to the primary question were avoided. This was done in an attempt to stay true to the

original survey approved by the Institutional Review Board. To protect the confidentiality of the

participants, all identifiable data was redacted from the answers given and no personally

identifiable information was recorded by the researcher. The company name and its city and

state were also redacted from this paper to protect the confidentiality of the information found

herein.

The questions in the interview were analyzed through the researcher’s own qualitative

understanding of the questions and answers. The location of the new facility would be deemed a

major influence based upon the answers to two of the questions. If the respondents rank location

of primary importance on the third question, the researcher will consider the location the primary

reason for the application. While no statistical significance can be shown with the small sample

size expected, additional research could be conducted to prove this. The second question that

can help the researcher determine whether location was a major influence for these candidates

was the last question. Since the last question pertains to whether the applicant would have

applied for the same position in another location, it gave valuable insight into what the effect

location played for the candidates interviewed. A qualitative combination of these two answers

32

would give the researcher the ability to determine what influence, if any, the location of the new

facility had on the candidates.

Limitations

The research conducted was limited to candidates applying for a position at the new

facility in Hudson, Wisconsin. The researcher was limited to asking only the questions in the

formally submitted documents to the Institutional Review Board. While other questions may

have been prudent during the interview, the researcher refrained from asking for anything other

than clarification of the candidate’s stated responses. The data collected and analysis of that data

should be viewed as only applicable to this company’s specific staffing issue. The information

received from these candidates reflects only the views of those specific candidates and should

not be interpreted for any large change to recruiting efforts.

Summary

The researcher interviewed candidates who applied for a position at the new facility in

Hudson, WI. While the number of candidates interviewed was not expected to be great enough

to determine any statistical significance, the researcher utilized the answers given to help

determine the probability of whether the location played a role in the candidates’ applications.

The results of the interviews have allowed the researcher to determine the feasibility that this

new facility location has provided the necessary employees for Insure You Corporation.

33

Chapter IV: Results

The purpose of this paper was to determine whether opening of the new facility in

Hudson, Wisconsin would entice more viable candidates to apply for positions in the information

systems department of Insure You Corporation. The applications received within the first two

weeks proved that more candidates did apply at the new location, but determining the reasons

why qualified candidates applied at this location was the key reason this research was conducted.

The responses from the qualified candidates interviewed showed some expected results and also

the reasons for their application. These candidates also provided reasons why they did not or

would not apply for a similar position at Insure You Corporation’s main campus.

Survey Question 1. Please specify the type of community you grew up in.

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

Four of the seven candidates indicated that they were raised in a community with less

than 100,000 people. A community of this size or smaller was referred to as a rural community.

Three candidates answered that they were raised in a larger community or its suburbs. It was

unexpected to see the majority of candidate’s answer they were from a rural community since the

new facility is located in the suburbs of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since these results

were unexpected, the company may utilize these answers to help determine a strategy for

advertising their positions more heavily in the rural communities surrounding the location of the

new facility. Combining a candidate’s responses to this question and the second question would

allow us to better understand the motivation for each candidate’s application.

34

Survey Question 2. When considering the location you look for employment, how would you

classify the type of community?

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

Five of the candidates answered that they would prefer to work in an urban location;

while two answered they would prefer to work in a rural area. The responses to this question

were intriguing as well since the candidates were applying for a position in an urban area, yet

two of the candidates would prefer to work in a rural community. This may be attributed to a

lack of positions in rural communities, but more research would need to be conducted before this

hypothesis could be affirmed. To understand a candidate’s commitment to the answers given a

sub-question was asked to see how likely the candidate was to accept a job outside their

preferred area.

Survey Question 2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job in an [urban/rural]

community if you were offered a position (1, not likely – 5, quite likely)?

This sub-question asked whether how likely the candidates would be to accept a position

that was in the opposite type of community they preferred. The mean answer was 2.57,

indicating a slight unlikeliness to accept a position outside of their preferred community. This

mean would indicate that the candidates did not show extreme partiality between a rural and

urban community. Although this does not support the hypothesis that the location plays a key

role in an applicant’s interest in the job, it does not necessarily contradict it, since the exact

community is not specified.

One of the candidates, who indicated a preference to work in a rural community and was

subsequently asked about working in an urban community answered one, showing a strong

35

preference to only work in a rural community. Since Hudson, Wisconsin is located on the edge

of the urban environment, it may have been considered a rural community by this candidate. By

the researcher’s definition, however, it is labeled as a suburb and therefore part of the urban area.

This may indicate the location that was selected would appeal to not only persons looking for

work in an urban area, but also those looking for employment in a rural community. Since only

one candidate seemed to believe this, more research would need to be conducted to determine

whether this is the case.

Survey Question 3. When considering a job offer, please rank the level of importance of the

following.

___ Promotional Opportunities

___ Location

___ Compensation

___ Company reputation

___ Developmental Opportunities

This question asked the candidates to rank their career priorities given a list of five

employment objectives. Compensation was ranked the highest, with five of the seven candidates

ranking highest. Location was the second most important employment objective. All seven

candidates ranked the location in their top three. Location was not deemed the most important

by the candidates interviewed so the researcher cannot conclude the location a major influence.

Table 2 shows the answers given by the candidates for this question.

36

Survey Question 4. What are some of the reasons for your application for the current

position?

While the other questions attempted to find out specific items, this question was more

open-ended and left the answers up to the interpretation of the candidates. There were a variety

of answers given, but each of the candidates referenced the location in their answers. They all

were pleased with the location and many of them were happy to be part of a new office.

Promotions Location Compensation Reputation Development

4 2 1 3 5

4 1 3 2 5

3 2 1 4 5

3 1 2 5 4

3 2 1 4 5

2 3 1 4 5

4 2 1 3 5

Table 2. Candidate ranking of career objectives.

One candidate said, “I think it would be nice to be in on the ‘ground floor’ so to speak, as you

build the work teams at a new location.” Three additional candidates mentioned the new

location as a positive as well. The same candidate quoted above gave more insight into why a

new location appeared to be a good thing. That candidate believed that a company that was

willing to consider different options for their hiring practices, would also be open to change and

that would allow the person have more creative input into decisions. Compensation was also

mentioned by two candidates. Only one candidate mentioned that the company’s reputation was

the key to their interest in the position.

37

Survey Question 6. Would you have applied for the current position if it were only available

[at the company headquarters]?

o Yes

o No

The candidates all responded in the negative as to whether they would have applied for a

similar position if it were only available at the company headquarters. This indicated that with

the candidate group interviewed, even if the company was to better publicize their positions at

their main offices, they would not have received applications from these candidates. That is a

strong statement and instrumental to the conclusion of this paper.

Cumulative Results

The cumulative results are available in Appendix D and showed that the location of the

new facility was well received by the candidates that were interviewed. It also provided valuable

information for the company with regards to the type of candidates available in this market.

While not all the candidates mentioned location as the key reason for their application, each of

them did indicate they would not have applied if the company only offered the position at their

headquarters. Interpreting the lack of applications at the headquarters and these answers, the

results indicated that the location was the key to both the lack of applications at the primary

facility and the increase in qualified candidates at the new location.

Summary

The interviews provided valuable insight into the candidates’ reasons for applying for

these positions. All the candidates were deemed qualified by the hiring personnel at Insure You

Corporation. The interviews showed that while the candidates did not rank location of primary

importance, slightly beaten by compensation, they did rank it highly. Also, the last question

38

regarding whether the candidates would have applied for a similar position at the headquarters

was telling in that no candidate would have applied. Additional analysis and conjecture is done

to conclude this paper.

39

Chapter V: Discussion

To determine the feasibility of hiring more qualified candidates at a new facility nearer a

metropolitan area, Insure You Corporation opened a new facility in Hudson, Wisconsin to

augment their current staff located at their headquarters. While the company did receive more

applications at the new facility than at their headquarters, they needed a mechanism to determine

whether the increase in applications was related to the facility location. The company did

consider other options, such as outsourcing, to increase their information technology capabilities,

but preferred to hire their own employees. The results of the interviews with applicants showed

the candidates were most concerned about their compensation, followed closely by the location

of the position.

In Chapter I, the company’s history was reviewed to show what led to the problems the

company now has with hiring at its primary facility. It was discussed that although the company

was using third-party software, they have continued to grow their internal Information

Technology staff and have problems recruiting qualified candidates. The purpose of the study

was to understand if the location was the primary reason for the interviewed candidates’

applications.

Chapter II endeavored to help the researcher and read better understand the situation the

company has encountered. The company was located in a rural area and there are many

documented cases of companies struggling to hire well-educated employees in these types of

communities. Alternate options were also discussed, including the option of outsourcing,

insourcing and near-sourcing. The company is using a combination of these options to make up

their current Information Technology strategy. The outsourcing portion of this strategy is the use

of third-party software. Another piece of the company’s strategy is the use of insourcing, as the

40

company has done in the past. They wish to continue this but as revealed in the Introduction,

they have had issues recruiting qualified staff. This has resulted in the company utilizing a

modified version of near-sourcing, where the company opened a new location where they can

find qualified staff, while maintaining the control, by hiring the employees to work directly for

them as they had in the past.

In Chapter III, the methods utilized to measure the successfulness of this new location

were described in depth. The researcher also included questions to help the company find

alternate reasons why the candidates applied to the positions at the new facility. These research

methods were approved by the Institutional Review Board to allow for the interview of the

human subjects.

The results were described in Chapter IV and showed a general appreciation for the

location but the candidates did not rank location as their highest priority. The candidates ranked

compensation as their highest priority in a company. While this did not prove the researcher’s

assumption about location being the primary reason for these applications, it also did not

disprove this theory. Location was ranked second in this question and was mentioned multiple

times by the perspective employees as show in Appendix D.

This chapter reviewed the information provided in the previous chapters to help the

researcher come up with the conclusions and recommendations for further research. There were

also some limitations that hampered the research and its applicability to other firms experiencing

similar issues that are described below.

Limitations

The study was conducted on a small scale only interviewing candidates deemed qualified

by hiring personnel. While there were many more applicants, only seven were interviewed by

41

the researcher, who was limited by time and the ability to commute to the company headquarters

for each interview. The low sample size did not allow for statistical analysis of the results to

provide any significance. Advertising for the positions was done primary on the Internet, which

should not affect the respondents for a technology position, but does have the possibility of

excluding some potential candidates. This study should not be deemed applicable to other

companies without further research. Since the candidates were selected based upon their

qualifications for only one specific information technology position, programmer/analyst, the

scope of the findings are further limited.

Conclusions

As suggested by the study conducted by Chung and Kahn, the effects of outsourcing and

a lack of qualified candidates may be a reason for the difficulties in hiring qualified personnel for

Insure You Corporation (Chung & Khan, 2012). The company decided to place their facility

closer to a metropolitan area in hopes of attracting more qualified candidates. The company did

receive applications from more qualified candidates and have hired several employees.

The target number of employees at the new facility is yet to be reached; however, the

number of qualified applicants suggests that this is only temporary. The company needed to

obtain more resources in their information technology department to keep up with the rising

needs of the company. They found it difficult to hire qualified employees in the rural

community where the company is headquartered. Interviews were conducted with the candidates

to help determine why the candidate applied for the current position and whether the candidate

would have still applied at the company headquarters location. The candidates all answered in

the negative as to whether they would have applied at the company headquarters location. This

42

showed the researcher that there may be an attribute or element about the headquarters location

that did not appeal to these candidates.

The fact that each candidate ranked location in their top three indicated that the leased

location was in the correct place for these candidates. While the candidates did not rank location

as their highest priority, the combination of this question with the question about accepting a job

at the company’s headquarters makes a strong case that location was a key factor when

determining what job to apply for.

A surprising result was that some candidates viewed the new facility location as a rural

facility rather than a metropolitan one. The new facility, by the researcher’s definition of

metropolitan, was located in the suburbs of a metropolitan area and is therefore considered a

metropolitan location. However, the distinction is really up to the candidate and since some

candidates called the location rural, this location may actually appeal to persons looking for

employment in both rural and non-rural settings.

The company has already utilized vendor software to increase their effectiveness and

decrease the need for a larger information technology staff. As such, the company has already

started to implement the use of a combination of outsourcing and internal information

technology staff as research suggests is effective (Han & Mithas, 2013). While this technique

was implemented without knowledge of the study, it would be sensible for the company to keep

some internal information technology staff to allow for better communication with the vendors it

currently utilizes for some portions of its business.

The results did suggest that the location of the new facility was one of the key factors for

the candidates’ applications. Given the results of the ranking question and the question about

whether the candidate would have applied if the job was offered at the primary location, we can

43

say that for the candidates interviewed, the chosen location of the new facility was a success.

The effect of opening a new facility has allowed the recruitment of qualified candidates and the

company is achieving its goal to maintain a level staff it needs to keep up with the current

demands of Insure You Corporation.

Recommendations

The research showing that retention and recruitment of personnel in a rural area is

increased through loan payback programs and incentives may be an option for Insure You

Corporation (Daniels et al., 2007). The company could implement these programs to help

recruitment at their primary office location. Also, an expansion of the company’s current

internship program may also be prudent given the same research. These options should be

considered if the company abandons the new facility.

A survey involving college students obtaining a technical degree applicable to this job

may give more insight to the thoughts and reasons behind the lack of qualified candidates in the

primary location. This additional research could be conducted to augment the results of these

findings and could give the company a more comprehensive view of their perspective employees

as well as people who would never apply.

The researcher could have interviewed all applicants to give more insight into the

unqualified candidate’s perspective. This would have allowed the company to better understand

how their job postings could be updated in the future to prevent these applicants from applying to

a position they are not qualified for. By reducing the amount of unqualified candidates, the

company would save time and resources used to look at these candidates’ applications.

In retrospect, the conclusions were based a small sample size which can provide no

significance from the answers given in the interviews. The general themes of the candidates’

44

answers did give some insight into their reasons for applying but may be inappropriately

overstated, since the candidate pool was small. The company should conduct further research

prior to implementing a large change to their recruitment strategies.

More research should be conducted to assess the ability of this facility to provide the

company with the resources they needed. An after action assessment may be conducted to gauge

the effectiveness of the employees at the new facility versus the primary headquarters location.

If the company deems this site beneficial and cost-effective, it may consider hiring other

positions and expanding the site to accommodate more staff.

One option the company may consider is to open a location inside one of the larger cities,

St. Paul, MN or Minneapolis, MN to allow for recruitment of more personnel. While the

company did tap into the resources available in the communities around these cities, it may have

missed the opportunity to hire the best employees by choosing the location it did. Information

technology professionals who live on the West side of the Twin Cities would have a commute

exceeding one hour. If the company does need the ability to hire more employees or does not

find the qualified candidates it seeks at the new location, this may be a viable option.

45

References

Carmel, E., & Abbott, P. (2007). Why 'nearshore' means that distance matters. Communications

of the ACM, 40-46.

Chung, M., & Khan, B. (2012). The effects of outsourcing of information technology on the

employment of computer professionals in the United States. International Journal of

Management, 29(3), 371-382.

Daniels, Z. M., VanLeit, B. J., Skipper, B. J., Sanders, M. L., & Rhyne, R. L. (2007). Factors in

recruiting and retaining health professionals for rural practice. National Rural Health

Association, 23(1), 62-71.

Goo, J., Kishore, R., Rao, H., & Nam, K. (2009). The role of service level agreements in

relational management of information technology outsourcing: an empirical study. MIS

Quarterly, 33(1), 119-145.

Green, G. P. (2003). Workforce development networks in rural areas of the United States.

Economic & Workforce Development, pp. 1-8.

Han, K., & Mithas, S. (2013). Information technology outsourcing and non-IT operating costs:

an empirical investigation. MIS Quarterly, pp. 315-332.

Handfield, R. (2006, June 1). A brief history of outsourcing. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from

Supply Chain Resource Cooperative: http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/a-brief-

history-of-outsourcing

Insourcing. (2013). Web Finance, Inc. In BusinessDictionary.com, Retrieved April 12, 2013,

from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/insourcing.html.

Kite, S. (2004). Keeping IT closer to home. Securities Industry News, 16(41), 1-20.

46

Lieberman Software Company. (2011). 2011 Survey of IT Professionals. Los Angeles:

Lieberman Software Corporation.

Outsource. (2013). In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outsource.

Pearson, M. L., & Andres, L. (2010). Job location decisions of pharmacy graduates in British

Columbia. American Journal Of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(4), 1-9.

Sako, M. (2010). Technology strategy and management: outsourcing versus shared services.

Communications of the ACM, 53(7), 27-29.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration

(n.d.). How is rural defined? Retrieved April 13, 2013, from Health Information and

Technology Quality Improvement:

http://www.hrsa.gov/healthit/toolbox/RuralHealthITtoolbox/Introduction/defined.html

Wise Geek. (n.d.). What is near-sourcing? Retrieved April 12, 2013, from wiseGEEK:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-near-sourcing.htm

47

Appendix A: Consent Form

Title of the Study: Feasibility of Opening a Satellite Facility to Solve Difficulties in Hiring

Research Mentor: James Keyes, PhD (phone: 715-232-5165) (email: keyesj@uwstout.edu)

Student Researcher: Mark Osegard (phone: 715-495-0932) (email: osegardm2004@my.uwstout.edu)

DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH

You are invited to participate in a research study about the effectiveness of opening a new location in Hudson, Wisconsin to solve difficulties in hiring.

You have been asked to participate because you applied for a position at the Insure You Corporation’s new office location.

The purpose of the research is to determine the effectiveness of the company's strategy to open an alternate location to solve difficulties in hiring.

This study will include applicants for positions at the new office location.

The research interview will be conducted after the official interview process and is completely voluntary. No information given during this interview will be given to the hiring staff before a determination is made whether to make you an offer of employment.

WHAT WILL MY PARTICIPATION INVOLVE?

If you decide to participate in this research you will be asked to answer several questions about the location of the new office.

Your participation will last approximately 15 min in total.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS TO ME?

There is no risk to your potential employment.

ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS TO ME?

We don't expect any direct benefits to you from participation in this study.

HOW WILL MY CONFIDENTIALITY BE PROTECTED?

48

This study is anonymous. Neither your name nor any other identifiable information will be recorded.

WHOM SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?

You may ask any questions about the research at any time. If you have questions about the research after you leave today you should contact the Student Researcher Mark Osegard at 715-495-0932.

If you are not satisfied with response of research team, have more questions, or want to talk with someone about your rights as a research participant, you should contact the University of Wisconsin – Stout Research Services Office at 715-232-1126.

Your participation is completely voluntary. If you decide not to participate or to withdraw from the study it will have no effect on your potential employment with Insure You Corporation.

Your signature indicates that you have read this consent form, had an opportunity to ask any questions about your participation in this research and voluntarily consent to participate. You will receive a copy of this form for your records.

Name of Participant (please print):______________________________

_______________________________________ ______________ Signature Date

49

Appendix B: Interview Questions

Interview questions for candidates of the Hudson, Wisconsin location.

1. Please specify the type of community you grew up in:

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

2. When considering the location you look for employment, how would you classify the type of

community?

o Rural (populations less than 100,000)

{Subquestion}2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job in an urban

community if you were offered a position (1, not likely – 5, quite likely)?

1 2 3 4 5

o Urban (populations 100,000+ including suburbs)

{Subquestion}2a. How likely would it be that you would accept a job in a rural

community if you were offered a position (1, not likely – 5, quite likely)?

1 2 3 4 5

3. When considering a job offer, please rank the level of importance of the following:

___ Promotional Opportunities

___ Location

___ Compensation

___ Company reputation

___ Developmental Opportunities

4. What are some of the reasons for your application for the current position?

50

5. Are you familiar with where [the company headquarters] is [located]?

o Yes

o No (I will show the person on a map where it is)

6. Would you have applied for the current position if it were only available [at the company

headquarters]?

o Yes

o No

Thank you for your participation…

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Appendix C: Institutional Review Board Approval

February 21, 2013 Mark Osegard Technology Management UW-Stout RE: “Feasibility of Opening a Satellite Facility to Solve Difficulties in Hiring” Dear Mark, In accordance with Federal Regulations, your project, “Feasibility of Opening a Satellite Facility to Solve

Difficulties in Hiring” was reviewed on 2/20/2013, by a member of the Institutional Review Board and was approved under Expedited Review through 2/19/2014. If your project involves administration of a survey or interview, please copy and paste the following message to the top of your survey/interview form before dissemination: If you are conducting an online survey/interview, please copy and paste the following message to the top of the form: “This research has been approved by the UW-Stout IRB as required by the Code of Federal regulations Title 45 Part 46.” Responsibilities for Principal Investigators of IRB-approved research:

1. No subjects may be involved in any study procedure prior to the IRB approval date or after the expiration date. (Principal Investigators and Sponsors are responsible for initiating Continuing Review proceedings.)

2. All unanticipated or serious adverse events must be reported to the IRB. 3. All protocol modifications must be IRB approved prior to implementation, unless they are

intended to reduce risk. 4. All protocol deviations must be reported to the IRB. 5. All recruitment materials and methods must be approved by the IRB prior to being used. 6. Federal regulations require IRB review of ongoing projects on an annual basis.

Thank you for your cooperation with the IRB and best wishes with your project.

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Should you have any questions regarding this letter or need further assistance, please contact the IRB office at 715-232-1126 or email foxwells@uwstout.edu. Sincerely,

Susan Foxwell Research Administrator and Human Protections Administrator, UW-Stout Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research (IRB)

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Appendix D: Cumulative Results

Question

#1 #2 #2a #5 #6 Candidate 1 Rural Rural 1 Yes No Candidate 2 Rural Urban 3 Yes No Candidate 3 Rural Urban 2 Yes No Candidate 4 Rural Rural 4 Yes No Candidate 5 Urban Urban 1 Yes No Candidate 6 Urban Urban 2 Yes No Candidate 7 Urban Urban 3 Yes No

Question #3

Promotions Location Compensation Reputation Development

Candidate 1 4 2 1 3 5 Candidate 2 4 1 3 2 5 Candidate 3 3 2 1 4 5 Candidate 4 3 1 2 5 4 Candidate 5 3 2 1 4 5 Candidate 6 2 3 1 4 5 Candidate 7 4 2 1 3 5

Question #4 Candidate 1 The location is great and flexible.

Candidate 2 I am from Wisconsin; [the company] has a good reputation.

Candidate 3 I live in Hudson, so the location is important to me. The pay is also good for the area.

Candidate 4

I think it would be nice to be in on the ‘ground floor’ so to speak, as you build the work teams at a new location. It appears, with this move, that [the company] is open to change and innovation and I hope to help provide new ideas for the company, at this location, with the other new hires.

Candidate 5 There was good pay. Candidate 6 The people were nice and the pay and location are great.

Candidate 7 I am looking for work in this field and my commute would be much shorter than other jobs I have applied for.