Bob is a small business owner who is frustrated with the job application process and the attitudes of recent university graduates. He feels that students are unprepared for the real world, do not understand the value of his family business, and are only interested in themselves. Bob struggles to see things from the perspective of younger people and worries about who will take over the business. He needs to reconsider his recruitment approach and values to attract candidates who are a good fit for both the job and his company culture.

1. DTAL 2013 - Assignment 1 - Jeffrey A Thom
Empathy Map
SAY:
• There are so many applicants for a single position;
• Students are not completing the application process;
• Students think the only subjects that matter are the ones they liked or
excelled in;
• Students are not taught business fundamentals;
• They have a bad attitude to work;
• They're doing me a favor by working for me;
• This is a job not a not a moral crusade;
• Experience is more important than a Degree qualification;
• There are parts of a job that everybody dislikes;
• The ones who interview well are not what I want in an employee;
• Final marks do not make the man;
• Am I that out of touch;
• My wife says I am to hard on them and expect to much;
• It is all about them, what is in it for me, how much, when and where;
• I should get my wife to do the recruiting;
• They're already planning on leaving before they've arrived;
• We are not a big company and never will be;
• Believes Facebook and all that stuff is a 'fad';
• We need a 'website' but it is not where our business is
THINK & FEEL:
• This could be our or a friends kid;
• How can I get through to them (Undergraduate)?
• Do they like me & more importantly the business?
• Do they know my parents started this business and it is
older than them?
• I do not like having to do lots of things but I have to.
• This is not a text book example, it's a business that
supports 7 families which they are asking to be a part
of?
• What would happen if I was not here and they had to
run their part of the operation for a month?
• Has no intention of growing the business into mega-
multinational;
• Trepidation - how do you know who is the right
candidate;
• Maturity - I was married with child on the way at the
same point in my life;
• Loyalty - there is no sense of obligation;
• Different Life Values and Life Stages;
• Respect - candidates do not care for the what was
done to provide them this opportunity;
DO:
• Frustrated, hand gestures;
• Frustrated, takes to much time;
• Laughing, understanding that this young person could be someone they
know;
• Dress and appearance; professional appearance (suit and tie)
• Authoritarian - hierarchy, do as told;
• Formal - sits at desk, power positioning;

2. DTAL 2013 - Assignment 1 - Jeffrey A Thom
Definition Statement
STAKEHOLDER:
Serious small business
manger;
Successful and respected
local business person and
community member;
Blunt and forthright
personality;
Old-school values driven
individual;
Highly motivated and
focused on specific
interests;
Diligent, dedicated and
defined by the family
business he runs;
Extremely loyal to close
circle of family and friends
(including staff);
Proud family focused man.
PROBLEMS/NEE
DS
Bob wants his business to
continue;
Needs a new approach to
recruitment;
Needs to consider what he
is actually looking for in new
staff;
May not actually know what
he wants;
Needs to shift his values to
identify potential hires;
INSIGHTS
Bob needs to shift his
business values;
He needs to understand
that university recruits see
the world much differently
to him;
Understand that students
value time differently;
Understand that new
graduates do not define
themselves by their work
(yet);
Understand that graduates
have been exposed to much
more of the world than he
may realize;
Bob might have to be
prepared to visit Uni or
spend some time listening;
Bob might need to start
actualizing his contingency
planning;