Empleados Ya: A Head Hunter for the Poor

The case opens in March 2008 with Andrés González, the entrepreneurial mind behind Empleados Ya (EY), concerned about the financial situation of his new venture. González and Salvador Sáez, both faculty members at one of Chile's most distinguished business schools, had formed EY with startup capital of just US$ 10,000. In a nation were unemployment was historically high the partners aimed to achieve a dual purpose, namely to make a profit (i.e. create economic value) while making a contribution to solve a pervasive social problem (i.e. create social value). Chile had a longstanding headhunting industry geared towards highly qualified professionals, but labor brokerage for the low-skilled employment sector had been managed by the government through a network of municipal employment offices (Municipal Labor Intermediation Offices, henceforth OMIL). These offices, however, were inefficient in brokering employment and companies did not use them to fill vacancies. González felt that the lack of information available about the job market was one of the causes of unemployment in low-skilled sectors: Job seekers did not know where to find work, and large companies did not trust the OMIL offices to find good workers. This left a niche open for a trustworthy intermediary service to match companies with potential candidates from the low-skills sector. The case outlines the challenges facing EY to stay afloat after three years of operation. Its leaders had formed a partnership with an international labor brokerage organization that had not produced the desired results. While Sáez is willing to cut his losses and close up shop, Gonzalez is not. Still, given EY's unsatisfactory financial results, González has to make some important decisions in order to make the business profitable.

• Hiring and recruitment
• Unemployment