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Minnesota Viking Interview Paper

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I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan as long as I can remember. After beginning my education at the Carlson School of Management and learning about the potential careers my degree could lead to, I decided upon my dream career, to be the CFO of the Minnesota Vikings. When I was presented this assignment I viewed it as both an opportunity to connect the concepts discussed in class to a business-setting and to learn about the organization I want to work for. I found Lisa Larson’s information on the Minnesota Vikings’ front office webpage and sent her a LinkedIn message. She responded and was receptive to meeting with me to discuss human resources at the Minnesota Vikings.
Questions and Answers What is a typical day in human resources at the Minnesota …show more content…

I have very diverse responsibilities. It used to only be me in the HR department but we have recently added another HR professional. I do typically have two meetings a day and I am responsible for managing 162 full-time staff (Larson).
And how is that different than your job at Polaris (previous employer)?
Answer: At Polaris I had a team of 30 people so my responsibilities were much more specialized. Here my job with the Vikings is as more of an HR generalist (Larson).
Does a potential employee’s passion for the Vikings affect the likelihood they will be hired?
Answer: To an extent. We want someone who is passionate about the Vikings but not a ‘superfan.’ We recommend Viking ‘superfan’ stick to buying season tickets to support the team. I actually fell into working in sports. I was more drawn to the size of the organization and the breadth of responsibilities the job possessed (Larson).
Is there a busy season?
Answer: The offseason is much worse because we are expected to get everything prepared for the season which is the focal point of our organization. We feel our job is to get everything done so that football can focus on football (Larson).
How is managing the business side different than the football side? Can you describe your relationship with the …show more content…

The employees are self-motivated because of their passion for their work. Most departments are very small as well so if you don’t get your work done there is no one to pass your work off to (Larson).
How do you recruit? Do you recruit for diversity?
Answer: We look at specific industries for external hires, we visit schools, and are now using LinkedIn. We had used a sports-specific job website but were receiving too many unqualified candidates. Yes, we do recruit for diversity. One way we do this is recruiting outside of Minnesota because Minnesota is mainly white. Another way is through referrals. We do not use quotas. Quotas are mainly government imposed.
How do you screen and select employees?
Answer: We have a database of applicants and are able to query the database for specific certificates, work history, etc. (Larson).
How do you manage performance?
Answer: We do have use annual performance reviews but our performance management is informal. One technique we use is to track conversations and if over time there is a need to make changes, then we will make them when needed (Larson).
How do you develop employees? Are there opportunities for

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