Recruitment and Selection

CHAPTER FOUR

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Employee Recruiting:

Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals (pool of candidates) on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications.

Recruitment is the procedure of identifying potential candidates for existing or expected organizational positions.

Features of Recruitment:

Key features include:

1.      Linking Activity: It brings together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs.

2.      Identifying Sources: Involves identifying sources where the required number and kind of employees are or will be available.

3.      Attracting Candidates: The organization develops techniques to attract desirable candidates.

4.      Stimulating Candidates: Aims to stimulate as many candidates as possible to have a large pool for selectivity in the hiring process.

The fundamental aim is to create a pool of individuals who have the potential to meet the required qualifications, with the term "qualified" signifying the challenges inherent in the process. An effective recruitment process attracts a large number of qualified applicants, ensuring self-selection of unqualified candidates through adequate job information.

Factors Affecting Recruitment:

Recruitment is influenced by internal and external factors:

Internal Factors:

·         Working conditions

·         Promotional opportunities

·         Salary levels, benefits

·         Other personnel policies

·         Image of the organization

·         Management's ability to stimulate candidates

·         Quality of the recruitment process

External Factors:

·         Personnel policies and practice of other organizations

·         Career opportunities in other organization

·         Government regulations

Sources & Methods of Recruitment:

A.   Sources of Recruitment:

Recruitment can be sourced internally or externally.

1.      Internal Sources: Internal sources involve filling vacant positions with existing employees through transfers, promotions, or recall from lay-offs. This method is effective if the organization has a history of successful recruitment and a strong employee development program.

 Advantages:

·         The company has a better knowledge of candidates' strengths and weaknesses.

·         Inside candidates require less orientation and training.

·         Enhance morale and performance, creating loyalty.

·         Cost-effective: Internal recruitment is less costly as compared to external recruitment because of low advertisement and training costs requirement.

 Disadvantages:

·         Promoting individuals beyond their capabilities can be detrimental.

·         Intense competition for promotions may harm morale.

·         Inbreeding of ideas may stifle innovation.

2.      External Sources: External sources provide a larger pool of candidates and are necessary for rapidly growing organizations or those with high demands for technical and managerial employees.

  Advantages:

·         A larger talent pool of candidate.

·         It brings new insights and perspectives into the organization.

 Disadvantages:

·         Attracting, contacting, and evaluating external candidates is challenging.

·         It may require a longer adjustment or orientation time for external hires.

·         There is the potential morale problem among internal employees.

·         High cost: The cost of advertisement and training new entrants is high as compared to internal recruitment

B.   Methods of Recruitment:

1.      Job Posting:

·         Posting notices of job openings on organization bulletin boards.

·         Used for internal recruitment; employees apply for the job.

2.      Skill Inventory:

·         Internal method to identify employees with the attributes needed for a job.

·         A systematic record lists employee's education, skills, career interests, etc.

3.      Job Advertisement:

·         It is widely used to reach a large number of potential applicants.

·         It placed in newspapers, trade/professional papers, radio, TV, and billboards.

·         Guidelines for effective job advertisements include attracting attention, creating interest and desire, and instigating action.

When using advertising as a primary recruitment method, planning and evaluation of the advertising program are crucial for the human resource department.

4.      College Recruiting:

·         It involves recruiting from educational institutions to attract recent graduates.

·         Suitable for entry-level positions and can be a source of professional and technical employees.

5.      Employment Agencies:

·         They are public or private agencies that have information on job seekers.

·         They are major sources for both blue-collar and white-collar workers.

·         They are useful in situations where quick recruitment is necessary or for attracting a diverse pool of applicants.

Considerations when using employment agencies:

·         Provide accurate job descriptions.

·         Specify screening methods.

·         Periodically review data on candidates.

·         Develop a long-term relationship with selected agencies.

6.      Employee Referrals:

·         Employees are encouraged to refer potential candidates for job openings.

·         Announcements made through organization bulletin boards.

·         Prizes may be offered for successful referrals.

·         Cuts recruitment costs and can result in higher-quality candidates.

·         Potential issues with nepotism and equal employment opportunity laws.

7.      Executive Recruiters ("Head Hunters"):

·         They are specialized in seeking top management talent.

·         They are expensive but effective for crucial executive and technical positions.

·         Skilled in contacting qualified candidates not actively looking for jobs.

8.      Walk-ins/Write-ins or Unsolicited Applicants:

·         Walk-ins are job candidates who physically arrive at the organization in search for a job

·          Write-ins are job seekers who send application letter to an organization employment office.

·         The qualification of unsolicited applicants is influenced by economic conditions, organizational image, and job availability.

Alternative to Recruitment

Recruitment is not always the best method to fill vacant positions because:

v  it is time consuming and expensive

v  cannot solve the immediate employee demand of the organization

Most common alternative to recruitment includes:

·         Job enlargement and enrichment

·         Overtime

·         Temporary employment,

·         Subcontracting

·         Employee leasing

Employee Selection:

Employee selection is the process of choosing the individual who can most successfully perform the job from a pool of qualified candidates. This process follows an effective recruitment program that supplies enough applicants.

Importance of Employee Selection:

1.      Effective Performance: Ensures employees have the right abilities for effective performance.

2.      Cost: High costs associated with recruitment and hiring, especially for high-level positions.

3.      Legal Implications: Ensures compliance with legal requirements to avoid discrimination based on race, sex, etc.

Poor selection leads to:

•         Increased employee turnover

•         Absenteeism

•         Job related Accidents

•         Job dissatisfaction

•         High costs of training and Productivity losses

Right selection improves:

•         Human capital of the organization

·         employer-employee relations

·         productivity and commitment of employees

Selection Criteria: Selection criteria are explicit standards against which applicants are measured. These criteria cover organizational fit, team, /functional fit, and job fit. They are derived from job analysis and include factors like skills, experience, qualifications, education, personal attributes, and motivation. Criteria must be explicit to make credible selection decisions, choose appropriate procedures, and validate the selection process. The three perspectives for selection criteria are organizational fit, team, /functional fit, and individual job fit.

Selection Process (Continued):

1.      Application Form:

·         It provides basic employment information.

·         Used for screening out unqualified applicants.

·         Questions should be job-related, and irrelevant, discriminatory questions should be avoided.

2.      Preliminary Interview:

·         Gathers necessary information and assesses applicant's suitability.

·         It covers job-related and personal specifications.

·         Helps identify inappropriate applicants early in the process.

·         It provides information to applicants about the job, work environment, and salary range.

3.      Employment Tests:

·         Measure various aspects such as aptitude, job knowledge, proficiency, interests, and personality.

·         Aptitude tests assess capacity or potential to learn and perform a job.

·         Job knowledge and proficiency tests measure job-related knowledge and skills.

·         Interest tests assess alignment with successful people in similar jobs.

·         Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant's personality.

4.      Comprehensive Interview:

·         it supplements information from other steps.

·         Prove areas not covered by application forms or tests.

·         It may be structured or unstructured, with structured interviews preferred for consistency.

·         Panel of interviewers may include HR personnel, potential supervisors, and relevant executives.

Problems in conducting Interviews:

·         Favorable or unfavorable impressions may be based on wrong reasons.

·         Personal biases and simple characteristics may dominate judgment.

·         Effective interviewing guidelines include careful selection and training of interviewers, planning, putting interviewees at ease, immediate recording of facts, and evaluation of effectiveness.

5.      Reference Checking/Background Investigation:

·         It involves contacting references listed by the applicant.

·         It verifies work record, performance, and accomplishments.

·         It may extend to background investigation in some cases.

6.      Physical Examination:

·         It determines physical capability for the job and eligibility for insurance benefits.

·         Requests should be job-related to avoid discrimination.

·         Often it done before the final decision, sometimes after, based on the purpose.

7.      Final Employment Decision:

·         Decision made by the hiring department based on qualifications.

·         It identifies the best-qualified individual.

Tests can only be used to predict job success when they are valid and reliable.

·         Test validity implies that people who score high on the test do well on the job and those who score low do not do well on the job.

·         Test reliability implies that if people take the same test on different days, they will get approximately the same score each time.

Types of interview:

1.      Structured Interview: all candidates are asked the same type of standard questions prepared in advance. Structured interview can be:

·         Situational questions: involve creating a hypothetical job situation to determine what the applicant would do in that situation.

·         Job knowledge questions: involve investigate the applicant's job related knowledge (basic educational)

·         Worker requirement questions: seek to determine the applicant's willingness to confirm to the job requirements. e.g. the applicant's willingness to work in the rural part of the country

2.      Unstructured Interview: In this type of interview, questions are not planned; the interviewer can prepare it while the interview is in progress depending on the situation. Questions vary from candidates to candidates.

3.      Mixed (semi structured) Interview: in this method, the interviewers use combination of structured and unsaturated set of questions. The structured questions provide information that allows comparisons between candidates; the unstructured questions permit greater insights into the unique differences between applicants.

4.      Stress Interview: stress interview is a deliberate attempt to create tension and pressure in an applicant to see how well the candidate responds to these tensions.

Orientation (Induction)

Orientation, or induction, is the introduction of new employees to the organization, their work unit, and job. It can involve oral or written communication, including manuals and guidelines. The purpose is to familiarize new employees with the organization and reduce initial job-related anxiety.

When should it be given? Orientation can be provided before or during the selection process, followed by a formal orientation period once an individual is hired. The timing ensures that new employees are well informed about the organization and their roles.

Who does the orientation? The human resource department is primarily responsible for orientation, especially for general information about the organization. The immediate supervisor takes responsibility for job and department-specific orientation, providing accurate and relevant details.

Purpose of Orientation:

1.      Reduce Anxiety: Helps reduce the initial anxiety new employees feel when starting a new job.

2.      Expand Information: Expands on information received during recruitment and selection stages.

3.      Familiarize with Organization: Familiarizes employees with the organization's objectives, history, philosophy, procedures, and rules.

4.      Communicate Policies: Communicates HRM policies, work hours, pay procedures, overtime requirements, and company benefits.

5.      Job Overview: Reviews specific duties and responsibilities of the new employee's job.

6.      Introduction: Introduces the employee to the manager and co-workers.

Levels of Orientation:

A.     General Company Orientation:

·         It is relevant to all employees.

·         It covers the organization's overview, traditions, policies, compensation, fringe benefits, safety, and accident prevention.

B.     Departmental and Job Orientation:

·         It is a specific to the employee's department and job.

·         Provided by the supervisor or assigned co-worker.

·         It covers department functions, job duties, responsibilities, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations.

Effective Orientation:

1.      Well-Planned: it should be carefully planned orientation programs.

2.      Conducted by Experts well-trained individuals should conduct it.

3.      Continuous Improvement: involves regular evaluation for continuous improvement.

4.      Employee Feedback: Gather feedback from employees on the effectiveness of the orientation program.

Documentation for Orientation: Includes an organization chart, policies, and procedures handbook, list of holidays and benefits, performance evaluation forms, contact information, etc.

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