Informal and Formal Methods of Recruitment and Selection - Research Paper Example

Informal and formal methods of recruitment and selection BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Introduction The complexity of the organisation and the cost/benefit of a particular job role will determine whether to use informal or formalised methods of recruitment. Complexity, as properly defined, should take into consideration the context of organisational structure, firm size, the importance of the job role to organisational competitiveness, and the type of organisational culture that currently resides at the business (e.g. decentralised, centralised, or people/customer-centric). Both formal and informal methods have advantages and demerits, however this is highly dependent on internalised and externalised conditions as to whether formal or informal recruitment and selection efforts will be more viable. For example, smaller firms engage differently with the external labour market than does the larger firm (Atkinson and Meager 1994). For the small firm, such engagement is less predictable and not easily incorporated into formalised systems (Atkinson and Meager). This report highlights the mitigating factors that will determine which strategy is most effective and beneficial for a variety of firm types. The merits of formal and informal systems “Human resource management is a strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets, the people working there who contribute to the achievement of its objective” (Armstrong 2007, p.14). Centralised hierarchies, as one example, will often use the hard approach to HRM, which is focused around the tangible management activities of controlling, planning and scheduling. The hard style of HRM aligns, technically, human resource capital with business objectives usually using transactional leadership philosophy where rewards are highly contingent on achievement of specific, identified performance guidelines and objectives (Antonakis et al. 2003; Armstrong 2007). The soft approach, however, is more relationship- and people-centric where HR managers and line managers seek to actively build human capital through transformational leadership strategy, coaching, mentoring, and building social capital through establishment of a unified organisational culture. Whether the business uses hard or soft HRM philosophy will determine whether formal or informal systems of recruitment and selection are most appropriate to the business. Centralised hierarchies do not provide employees with much opportunity for feedback and decision-making whilst decentralised firms genuinely try to exploit human capital by allowing employees to illustrate individualism, creativity and problem-solving on a regular basis to achieve strategic goals and objectives. In the decentralised organisation, there may be more emphasis on work team development that is part of the team culture and people-centric corporate values. In this case, a more formal recruitment and selection model would be vital to the business since there are many complexities associated with how the job role will be performed. In essence, there are more performance criteria under consideration that will accompany the job role, thus psycho-social dimensions of human behaviour with the candidate must somehow be measured and assessed. In an environment where collectivism is a job role necessity, the HR recruitment and selection manager must consider candidate motivation, ability to function co-dependently with a variety of organisational actors, as well as their technical skill-sets and competencies. In the case where job interdependencies are going to exist, the employment checklist provides a formalised template to sufficiently explore multiple dimensions of attitude, behaviour and technical skill development. For example, there is a phenomenon in organisational science referred to as change resistance, where some members of the organisation will erect barriers when they feel a change imperative will conflict with their job role, personal values, or even line management perceptions about cost versus benefit of their interaction within the job role or training process (Storey 2001; Armstrong 2003). The checklist can be developed and then tested for reliability with multiple candidates in order to gain HR awareness of whether they believe the candidate will conform to people-centric working environments. The benefit in this case is a more rigorous and extensive analysis of total employee capabilities and psychological programming to ensure a proper fit with culture and the organisational structure currently in place in the organisation. In a centralised organisation with more individualism in job role function, it might be more cost effective to establish an informal system. For example, word-of-mouth referrals could be utilised between existing employees and HR management rather than using complicated and expensive recruitment promotions. Bonn and Forbringer (1992) indicate that simple word-of-mouth can actually reduce employee turnover ratios. A company HR unit that allows for word-of-mouth can establish reward and incentive programs for successful candidates that are selected for employment, thus improving motivation of workers for participating. This avoids the costs of exploring multiple labour pools and can also build more staff dedication as decision-makers in the organisation. Word-of-mouth as an informal system also has an advantage of providing proper candidates to the organisation by those who are already trusted and respected in the organisation, thus serving as an expert resource for approving the integrity and competencies of the referred individual. The demerits of formal and informal systems Informal systems have two distinct drawbacks. The first is that not being more selective and aggressive could leave important labour pools completely untapped (Bonn and Forbringer 1992). It can even lead to potential accusations that discrimination has occurred from individuals that do not perceive fairness in recruitment through word-of-mouth referrals. This could be costly and burdensome to the organisation. The formal system maintains many potential demerits, especially pertaining to cost and labour investment by the HR management. In a complex environment where a specific job role will contribute in multiple dimensions to human capital advantage and corporate competitive advantage, it might be necessary to be more thorough in the recruitment and selection process. However, after selection, the induction process can be time-consuming and costly if the programme is not developed properly. Several days or even weeks of investment in complicated training programmes might not provide sufficient learning outcomes or even manage to make a positive impression on the employee about their longevity with the firm. This could cause a situation where an induction programme does not provide the long-term benefit of the investment or even guarantee retention of the employee. Even though it is suggested that HR managers be active and visible during the induction process (ACAS 2012), the complexity of the training programme simply might not be worth the ultimate effort. A comparison of formal and informal systems Some companies use job advertisements as a means of reducing the formality of recruitment and selection. The Internet can be a valuable and cost-effective forum for familiarising the candidate with the business and multiple dimensions of culture, job role function, and long-term prospects for advancement (Burleigh and Wilson 2009). Online recruitment as an informal process maintains the ability to decentralise a business by letting other groups besides the HR team to be involved in recruitment. The advantage in this case of an informal online recruitment job advert and associated social media marketing is low cost achievement, involvement of existing personnel in key areas that can assist in the selection process, and building preliminary branded relationships with the candidate. Secondly, some organisations require flexibility in the HR model as well as the job role in order to be adaptive to changing and dynamic environments both internal and external. Armstrong (2003) refers to one type of flexibility as multi-skill flexibility where the job role requires multiple competencies in sociology, psychology, and technical skills procurement. In this case, a more formalised system of selection and recruitment would be critical to provide an effective and thorough evaluation of the candidate’s prospects for success in the flexible organisation. This might require a very complex induction programme development or even creating innovative job descriptions that describe the softer dimensions of job role other than simple skill-set matching to organisational needs. It could further involve multiple interviews with HR and line management or even psychological testing instruments for scenario planning or needs analysis to ensure a proper fit. Especially when the job role maintains high compensatory rewards, the organisational leadership must ensure the candidate is screened and assessed for multiple skill attainments. This might involve a complex needs analysis to determine (Richardson 2010). Conclusion As indicated by the research, both formal and informal systems have a variety of positive and negative attributes. Whether formal or informal systems are used are dependent on the goals of the organisation related to the job role, the cost availability for allocating capital toward recruitment and selection, and the type of culture and structure that resides at the organisation. Large firms usually demand more formal structures as they have more access to larger labour pools whilst smaller companies cannot often afford complex and multi-dimensional formal recruitment and selection systems. Whatever system used, it must be properly aligned to job role, performance expectations, socio-cultural aspects in the business as well as responsiveness to external needs once placed in the job role. Formal systems clearly involve more labour investment and input from multiple sources. Even though this might appear to be more advantageous to informal systems, both have merits and demerits depending on how they are applied in the legitimate organisational context and environment. The level to which job adverts, job descriptions, interview checklists or other evaluation tools are used will determine the formality of the recruitment and selection process. References ACAS. (2012). References and checking – Promoting employment relations and HR excellence. [online] Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=752 [Accessed 10 November 2012]. Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). Context and leadership: an examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 261-295. Armstrong, M. (2007). Employee Reward Management and Practice. United Kingdom: Bell & Bain. Armstrong, M. (2007). Armstrong’s Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management. 5th ed. London: Kogan Page. Armstrong, M. (2003). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 9th ed. London: Kogan Page. Atkinson, J., & Meager, N. (1994). Running to stand still: The small firm in the labour market. In J. Atkinson and D. Storey (eds.) Employment, the Small Firm and the Labour Market. London: Routledge. Bonn, M. A., & Forbringer, L.R. (1992). Reducing turnover in the hospitality industry: An overview of recruitment, selection and retention. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 11 (1), pp.47-63. Burleigh, S.L., & Wilson, K.C. (2009). Developing a Recruiting Strategy: A critical human resource initiative. [online] Available at: http://www.utoledo.edu/~ddwyer/mgmt3220/recruitstrat.htm [Accessed 11 November 2012]. Richardson, M.A. (2010). Recruitment strategies: Managing and effecting the recruitment process. Government of the Republic of Trinidad. [online] Available at: http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN/UNPAN021814.pdf [Accessed 11 November 2012]. Storey, J. (2001). Human Resource Management – A strategic introduction. Blackwell Publishers. Bibliography Fairholm, M. (2009). Leadership and organisational strategy. The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 14 (1), pp.26-27. Appendix A: Interview Checklist Template Evaluating the applicant’s education Question Response Comments Describe your educational background. Where did you attend high school and/or college? Did you work while attending college? Evaluating the applicant’s capability and willingness to do the job Question Response Comments Describe your duties in your prior jobs. What did you like or dislike about those jobs? Describe accomplishments in those jobs that you are most proud of. 2 Evaluating the applicant’s capability and willingness to do the job (Continued) Question Response Comments What parts of those jobs did you find least desirable? Why are you considering this position? Are there co-workers from prior jobs that would provide recommendations for you? What would they say? What are your objectives for this job? Evaluating whether the applicant will fit into your company Question Response Comments Describe interactions with co-workers at your prior positions. What did you like most about your prior positions? How do you like to relate to fellow workers and supervisors? Source: Financial Wisdom. (2012). [online] Available at: http://www.financialwisdom.com/fwonline/SBRC/SBChecklists/EmployeeInterviewCL.pdf [Accessed 11 November 2012]. Appendix B: Job Advert Example Source: Experience Pays. (2012). [online] Available at: http://www.experiencepays.qld.gov.au/pdf/eii/epas/recruit/job-ad-samples.pdf [Accessed 11 November 2012]. Appendix C: Job Description Job Description: Administrative Assistant Department: Administration Location: Boulder, CO FLSA: Non-exempt Reports To: Vice President, Administration Approved By: Director, Human Resources Revision Date: February 17, 2006 Effective Date: February 17, 2006 Purpose Provide full range of administrative and meeting support. Will independently administer several assigned responsibilities, ensuring excellent customer service. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perfo rm each primary responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and /or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job responsibilities. Essential Duties Administration Provides a full range of administrative, clerical and office support including, but not limited to: - Word processing production for variety of executive team members. - Manages calendars. - Assists in phone reception for executive and administrative departments. - Prepares and coordinate mail, faxes, and express packages. - Provide filing assistance. - Provides clerical/administrative support, including the composition and preparation of routine correspondence and presentations using computer software applications. - Prepares and maintains telephone directory and other company information. - Performs photocopying and other production services. - Prepares and maintains Administrative Assistant procedures. Maintains training curriculum and provides training to back-up personnel. - Advises supervisor of any issues to ensure excellent customer service. Facilities and Meetings Provides a full range of support including assistance with scheduling, word processing, and reception and facilities needs as needed. Advises supervisor of any issues to ensure orderly and efficient administrative operations. Job Description Receptionist and Administrative Assistant 2 Project Support Support project manager including, preparation of documents, and follow- up on timelines and deliverables. Attend project meetings and prepare meeting minutes and action items. Participate on cross- functional teams. Other Duties Other duties as assigned. Supervision Works under the general supervision of the Vice President, Administration. This position does not supervise other personnel. Job Qualifications Competencies Proven success in the following job competencies: Communication and Presentation Strong organizational habits Software Proficiency Customer Focus and Relationship Building Champion for Change Influencing Information and Technology Proficiency Leadership Problem Solving and Decision Making Technical Industry and/or Profession Expertise Work Experience 5-10 years administrative experience. Experience working in a customer-focused and fast-paced profe ssional environment. Education AA or college coursework and appropriate work experience considered. Licenses or Designations None required. Working Conditions Physical Work Demands Able to sit and work at a computer keyboard for extended periods of time; Able to stoop, kneel, bend at the waist and reach on a daily basis. Able to perform general office administrative activities: copying, filing, delivering and using the telephone. Able to lift up to 25 pounds occasionally. Job Description Receptionist and Administrative Assistant 3 Mental Work Demands Regular and on-time attendance. Hours occasionally exceed 40 hours per week. Works with Others Verbal Contact with Others Noise Occasional travel by conventional means including motor vehicle and the like within the region and to other locations as required. Note: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities or qualifications associated with this job. Source: ICAT. (2012). [online] Available at: http://www.icat.com/Employment/Admin-Administrative%20Assistant-v1.pdf [Accessed 11 November 2012]. Read More