1. 2016 SHRM Student Case Competition
Recruitment and Selection at Instructure
Executive Summary
A Holistic View of the Situation
Instructure has obviously gone to great lengths to create a workplace culture of collective
transparency and simplistic accountability; firstly by presenting a standard of seven values: trust,
excellence, simplicity, ownership, integrity, customer experience, and openness. For example, the
executives at Instructure demonstrate their commitment to openness by not having offices or cubicles
for employees. Instructure works hard to take care of its employees, we have assumed that this is done
in hopes that positive employee experience will translate into positive customer experience. As the
company continues to grow; hiring 300 employees per year and being publically traded, this culture
management will continue to become increasingly difficult. Because not every candidate will thrive in
the unique collective atmosphere; and turnover can result in a loss of 50-60% of a badly hired
employee’s salary, proper talent acquisition will make the ultimate difference in the company’s future.
Course of Action
There are many challenges that Instructure must face in the realm of recruiting those who fit the
culture. The first that we wish to highlight is the first and biggest challenge of finding new people to
choose from; an overwhelming issue to any high-volume recruiter. In order to recruit talent in the valley
that has not yet been reached, we advise that the recruiting and marketing team create a new
marketing strategy that strengthens brand recognition and creates a greater local presence. Such
activities may include hosting or sponsoring a local golf tournament, hosting a marathon for charity, a
book drive for impoverished students around the U.S., and other such events. Many companies find
great success in building relationships with local schools to hang signs and post to job boards. Local
universities are also a great place to invite students to open houses and job fairs; here, there would be
open interviews where many people could be hired on the spot or come in to learn more about working
at Instructure. These activities would all cater to the entry-level job positions available at Instructure,
however we are also aware of the possible need of people to fill positions higher up in the
organizational structure of the company. For this we suggest hosting events at company locations and
opening them up to the public in order to draw in curious individuals who may know little or nothing
about Instructure. We also suggest offering a referral bonus within the workforce at Instructure,
encouraging employees to invite their friends and family to come and see the unique culture of
Instructure thus reinforcing the employee’s commitment to ownership of the company.
The second challenge we desire to address is the difficulty of finding the right kind of person
within the pool of candidates. It is a struggle for any company to find the “perfect” candidate; meaning
a candidate that not only possesses the technical skills and experience to complete the duties of the
position, but also shares the same cultural values of the company. For Instructure, it is increasingly
difficult to assess a candidate’s ability to not only do the job, but assess their sense of proactivity and
ability to embrace change. We highly suggest that a personality test be implemented into the screening
process for some positions in order to gauge a candidate’s creativity and agility. We also suggest that in
addition to a panel interview, candidates be asked to prepare a presentation on selling a product. This
not only gives the candidate the opportunity to genuinely show off their versatility, it will also be a great
measure in showing the candidate’s desire to have the job; why put energy into a job you don’t really
want?

2. Just as it is a danger to any company to hire the wrong people, it is just as detrimental to lose
employees to other employers or to disengagement. Just as it is easy to maintain a set of cultural values
in a company by providing positive experiences for employees to succeed; it is very easy for employees
to create negative biases about the company through negative experiences. The central principle that
engages an employee is feeling that working at the company helps them achieve their goals. To do this,
it is important that Instructure focuses on hiring managers that are stewards of the seven values, and
quickly ceases any behavior that is not in line with the seven values; even one hypocritical act that goes
unpunished can turn a happy employee into an disengaged one. It is also important to not only mitigate
bad behavior but to praise good behavior. Employees are engaged when they are rewarded for working
hard. Instructure already has an environment of rewarding employees for hard work through catered
lunches, fun work environment and competitive games of foosball and ping-pong. This is an area that is
already being accomplished.
Already, we have emphasized that it is wiser to focus on candidates that are an excellent
cultural fit, even if they will require some training during the onboarding process. To better streamline
this process; and to facilitate an expectation whereby employees can grow their knowledge base and
move up in the company, Instructure must make training and development a priority. As the cultural
expectations are clearly communicated and the sales goals are challenging enough to encourage
employees to stretch; employees will have a very clear idea of what it takes to move up in the company,
and thereby honestly seek opportunities to learn more if they feel that they are lacking the technical
skills. As a company that prides itself in helping their clients become smarter, it is natural for the
company help its employees do the same. This way, Instructure can retain those employees who are
excellent cultural fits and allow them to forward their progress; this goes hand in hand with Instructure’s
commitment to ownership and trust, because it gives the employees an opportunity to be accountable
for their progression and learning.
As Instructure continues to grow and target more prestigious clients, we believe that a certain
level of professional mentality will have to become a priority. Even though there is a great deal of truth
in the philosophy that a happy and open workforce translates into productivity; Instructure must also
seek to be the kind of clients that they wish to attract and retain (or at least appear that way). That’s not
to say we think the overall culture of the company should change but it should be adapted to the
individual needs of each client.
One of the biggest challenges to a unique culture such as Instructure is assuring that the seven
values are implemented and experienced by every employee, no matter how far away they work from
headquarters. It is essential that headquarters still creates the same experiences so that offsite
employees do not feel isolated or disconnected from company processes, or worse, resentful that the
culture at offsite locations does not match their reasons for wanting to work at Instructure. In order
mitigate this challenge, we recommend that Instructure insure that there is a strong HR presence at or
very near every offsite location. By taking this step, Instructure can insure that policies and procedures
are being implemented correctly and that training processes at each location are followed through with
exactness. Beyond that, in order to further Instructure’s commitment to openness and trust between
the locations and headquarters will make the ultimate difference in the employees’ experience and
insure that clients are treated with the same amount of excellence regardless of which location they are
doing business with.