Human Resources in Business - Coursework Example

Human resources in business Table of Contents Introduction 4 a. How interviewing is carried out, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach 4 Defining the job role and the ideal profile of the applicant 5 Developing the outline of the interview 5 Selecting candidates for the interview 6 The Interview 6 After the Interview- Assessing and Selecting 6 Advantages and Disadvantages 6 b. Any other selection techniques which are available to managers together with their associated advantages and disadvantages 7 Practical Tests 7 Psychometric or Psychological Tests 8 Assessment centers, role plays and team exercises 8 Decision Making 8 c. Using the information you have gathered in parts (a) and (b) recommend with reasons one particular approach you would advise your manager to use 9 Conclusion 11 References 12 Bibliography 12 Introduction Hiring the best possible candidates is one of the most important challenges faced by the human resource departments in organisations. A proper method of conducting the interview process and having reference checks at regular intervals would not only save time and cost but also reduces the consequences of improper selection. The interview process forms a critical part of the selection process and precedes the decision for hiring the candidates. It is considered to be the most essential tool for evaluating a potential candidate. This project describes the way in which the interview method is carried out. Certain advantages and disadvantages that are associated with this method have also been described at length in the project. The conventional interview process carried out in organisations has been described and an alternative process has also been suggested in the project. Finally, one particular approach has been recommended to be followed by the managers of the organisations. The reasons for following a particular approach as compared to the other have been explained in the project. Certain trends have evolved according to the growing needs of organisations and their selection techniques have also changed accordingly. These have been described at length in the project. a. How interviewing is carried out, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach The process of interview involves a series of steps. A successful interview process can be achieved through good planning. The planning process involves gathering necessary information about the candidates. The potential areas of pitfalls can be avoided to a large extent by proper planning of the interview process (Miller & Chair, 2005, p.1). The interview process is conducted with the help of the following steps; Defining the job role and the ideal profile of the applicant The interviewer must have knowledge regarding the skills, abilities and knowledge associated with the job. The job description needs to be used thoroughly. This would be followed by developing the profile of the candidate who would fit best into the job. This is done on the basis of the required knowledge, skills and abilities, prior experience, job compatibility and required personality traits. The job profile would also include parameters such as required overtime, working hours, pay levels, promotion opportunities, necessity to travel, available benefits and limits on time on which vacations could be taken (Miller & Chair, 2005, p.1). Developing the outline of the interview This process necessitates the inclusion of members belonging to the job unit as well from other units. The team would be responsible for framing the interview questions which would help to determine whether an applicant is fit for the profile. This would test the experience and education, work habits, goals, working conditions and technical knowhow (Miller & Chair, 2005, p.2). The questions framed must also test the reliability of the answers. The structure of the interview should be such which would test the reliability of answers (Bratton & Gold, 2001, p.204). Selecting candidates for the interview Applicants must be chosen according to the basis of qualification requirements. When a large number of candidates apply for the same position they have to be chosen according to the objective criteria. The Interview The interview must be conducted according to the outline presented in the structure. Various job parameters must be communicated to the interviewee so that he or she has the required information to decide whether he or she would be interested in the job. The questions must be asked in order and should have the required references. After the Interview- Assessing and Selecting This phase includes assessing the suitability of the candidates. The candidates are to be rated according to their performance in the interview. This phase may require the use of tools and techniques designed for the purpose of discriminating between the shortlisted candidates. This process is both difficult and challenging. It involves a wide range of skills for making the right selection (Banfield & Kay, 2008, p.84). Advantages and Disadvantages The method allows flexibility because personal interaction takes place between the respondent and the interviewer. The interviewer is able to observe the respondents’ behaviour towards his questions. Further, the respondent can also request to repeat the questions in case there is any difficulty or confusion (Baraceros, 2000, p.82). It is also a cost effective method and does not incur much cost to the employer. However, complete preparation is required beforehand in order to be effective. An ill prepared interview becomes meaningless and may not serve the purpose. This method is time consuming and requires great analysis of the candidates. It requires the deployment of highly skilled members who might face difficulty in taking out time from their regular activities (Price & Nivak, 2007, p.66). b. Any other selection techniques which are available to managers together with their associated advantages and disadvantages Practical Tests Apart from interviews, the selection process may also include techniques like team exercise, role plays and assessment centres. Before conducting an interview, certain organisations hold practical tests. This is true in those cases where work involves application of practical skills. Practical tests are conducted to test the practical abilities of the candidates. This is more prevalent in case of manual skills and less for administrative or clerical posts. Recently, telephone skills have grown in demand and candidates applying for jobs like telesales are asked to go through the test (ACAS, n.d.). Practical tests are followed by the interviews. The interview may be structured or unstructured. Structured interviews are more useful for extracting relevant information from the candidates and assessing their competencies. However, structured interviews are not found to be much useful in recruiting the suitable person. Psychometric or Psychological Tests These measures find special importance in case of measuring the intelligence and personality of the candidates. This is done by using problem solving techniques, reasoning, decision making skills, confidence and interpersonal skills. The tests are not used widely as personality tests are particularly considered to be controversial. Organisations are particularly required to abide by the guidelines for using these tests. Assessment centers, role plays and team exercises “Assessment centres are often used by large organisations making senior management or fast-stream graduate appointments” (ACAS, n.d.). The candidates may be asked to provide presentations. At times he is asked to participate in role plays and his performance is observed. He can be asked to take part in team events as well (ACAS, n.d.). Decision Making The management has to decide who to select based on his observation of the above processes. He may do this by applying a scoring system to map the competencies of the candidates. This kind of techniques helps to avoid loopholes like stereotyping, mirror image effects or making snap decisions. The scoring system even allows organisations to weigh the desired competencies and compare the scores of candidates with the job specification. Immediately after the interview is conducted, the interviewer is required to note down the relevant details and answers. But this should not be the end process of the technique. The decision making process must be complemented by providing feedback to the candidates. At times, candidates may even ask for the feedback. It must be kept in mind that the candidates are allowed to see the interview notes according to the “Data Protection Act 1998” (ACAS, n.d.). Employers must also be aware of the fact that their reasons for selecting or rejecting a candidate may be challenged. The next and final step involves informing all the candidates about the outcomes of the selection process, whether successful or not. It is recommended that the management takes the responsibility of providing positive feedback to the rejected candidates. This would help them to improve reasonably for attaining success in future. The organisation must work towards retaining a favourable image in the eyes of the candidates. They may prove to be suitable for vacancies in the future. Candidates failing to fetch a particular job do not necessarily mean that he or she is considered unsuitable for other jobs in the same organisation. The CVs may be retained in the management for referring in future. It must be borne in mind that the candidates as well as their families could be the organisation’s customers or employees. Hence they must be treated courteously and fairly (ACAS, n.d.). c. Using the information you have gathered in parts (a) and (b) recommend with reasons one particular approach you would advise your manager to use The second technique of selection is recommended to be used by managers in organisations. The traditional modes of selection are considered to have certain drawbacks which can be removed substantially using the latter method. The latter uses more scientific approaches of selection and are found to be more accurate. Today, the employees have to go through a lot of stress as they are constantly under work pressure. It is important to measure their ability of handling stress. This is the reason why personality tests and psychometric tests are conducted in organisations. These techniques are not followed in the conventional technique of selection. Thus, the second technique finds more importance in today’s organisations. Personality tests find special importance in jobs involving more working hours and those which requires meeting targets. Sales jobs, in particular, use such techniques. Employees are said to get easily frustrated and demotivated if they are not able to meet targets. This leads to further fall in their performance. For this reason, they might quit from such jobs. Growing attrition rates in organisations have become a point of concern in modern organisations. To avoid such a situation, organisations are required to know the personality traits of candidates before recruiting them. This is the reason why the above techniques have grown in importance. In certain cases, candidates are asked to prepare presentations. This is meant to make a complete analysis of the candidates’ communication skills and abilities. This technique finds prominence while recruiting for managerial positions in organisations. Managers are required to have special skills like communication skills, leadership skills, presentation skills etc. Competencies in these skills cannot be analysed using normal interview techniques. The second mode of selection may be used for observing candidates’ skills in the above areas. The candidate’s assertiveness and team building skills can also be analysed using techniques like role plays and team exercises. Certain errors encountered in the traditional selection techniques can be overcome by using the latter method. Having a general face to face talk with the candidate might not always be an accurate way of judging the suitability of the applicant. This is true for jobs which involve manual skills and specific skills. Growing number of call centre jobs and telesales jobs has increased the utility and popularity of this technique. It aims to bring out the candidates’ skills in accordance with the job requirement. Conclusion It is seen that employers have a critical role to play in selecting the right candidates for his organisation. This requires a series of steps to be followed. Most importantly, a properly framed and planned selection procedure can save a number of common errors that normally occur during the selection technique. Minimising these errors can save a lot of the organisation’s time and cost. Further, it is seen that the conventional interview methods are not free of errors. It is time consuming and requires great analysis and observation. However, it has the advantage of allowing the interviewer to observe the candidates’ behaviour to the questions by way of his body language and personality. The employer also has to perform the important function of evaluating the performance of the candidates. This requires great observation power and honesty. A fair and honest judgement would eventually result in improved performance of the organisation. The alternative method proposed in the project is found to be minimising chances of probable errors to a large extent. It uses scientific and sophisticated techniques of using practical, psychological and personality tests. This method is seen to have an edge over other methods in terms of minimising the number of errors occurring in candidates’ selection. The second method is also useful in measuring the candidates’ overall personality and skills as per the requirement of the organisation. References ACAS. No Date. Selecting the best candidate. [Online]. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=751. [Accessed on November 26, 2010]. Banfield, P. & Kay, R. 2008. Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford University Press. Baraceros, E. 2000. Communicatuion Skills Ii 2000 Ed.. Rex Bookstore. Bratton, J. & Gold, J. 2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Routledge. Miller, M. & Chair, P. January 26, 2005. The Interview and Selection Process. [Pdf]. Availabel at: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/MCMS/RelatedFiles/%7B6597D315-3683-4CCC-A13D-343B3F4C6D61%7D/Interview-Selection-Process-08-06.pdf. [Accessed on November 26, 2010]. Price, C. H. & Nivak, H. 2007. HR policies & procedures manual for medical practices. Medical Group Management Assn. Bibliography Catano, V. M. 2009. Recruitment and Selection in Canada. Cengage Learning. Dale, M. 2003. Managers guide to recruitment and selection. Kogan Page Publishers. Read More