Sheffield City Council: Standardization of Recruitment Processes - Case Study Example

Sheffield City Council: Standardization of Recruitment Processes 1Introduction: Sheffield City Council - Human Resources is “a large and successful specialist consultancy, advisory and support service offering a whole range of Human Resources functions - from Recruitment to Retirement!” (Schefield: Human Resources, n.d.) It has persisted with the provision of services to 99 percent of Sheffield schools.  Sheffield City Council-HR is not only well known for its services and Recruitment and Retention Strategy programs but has also won many awards for its quality services to various Schools. However, lately it has been noticed from few quarters that their Human Resource process is not being able to offer opportunities to existing employees, especially those whose current positions have been vulnerable to redundancy, thereby not motivating members of staff to put in their best at work. This research study is being taken to find out the reasons and solve the problems regarding the same. The study will not only find the root of the problem but will also sincerely try to find few valid solutions to overcome the problem. Research Question: How to standardize the recruitment processes such that even the existing employee gets equal and fair opportunities? Objectives: The main objectives of this research study are: 1. To study and evaluate the current Recruitment process in depth. 2. Formulating ways to standardize the recruitment process. 3. Bench Marking fair practices, and formulating ways to follow them. Literature review: One of the most important functions of any HR Department is “Recruitment and Selection”. Recruitment as a process is an attempt to search for the potential candidates and encourage them to apply for an advertised vacant post. It is an attempt to build a database of potential candidates eligible for a particular post. Selection on the other hand is simply choosing relatively the best ones among all the applicants. The process of Recruitment and Selection varies form industry to industry and from organization to organization. (Recruitment VS Selection, n.d.) According to the article “The Recruitment Process” published in“eu-careers.com”, recruitment process is all about the “Recruitment competition”, widely known as “concours”, which occurs whenever vacancies for a permanent position comes out. The competition process includes three steps: Pre-Selection tests, followed by written tests and Interview at the end. The Pre-Selection tests generally consist of multiple-choice questions from varied fields. Once passed a candidate generally have to sit for an essay type written tests where the subject matter relates directly to the competition. Whoever has a better aggregate from both the tests is called for the “Final Interview” with the organization. Since, recruitment as a process, varies from organization to organization, it would be worthwhile to discuss a practical scenario of recruitment process. Below is one such discussion on the recruitment process. Kandola, Wood and Dholakia (2001) undertook two surveys, one focusing on organizations recruiting graduates and another focusing on the undergraduates applying for various graduate jobs. The reasons behind the surveys were to find out the intricacies of the recruitment and selection process used by various organizations, and to find out what the applicants felt and experienced regarding the recruitment process. Few of the key findings based on the survey undertaken by Kandola, Wood and Dholakia (2001) are discussed hereafter. The recruitment drives undertaken once a year by the private sector was found to be higher than the public sector with a ratio of 56percent: 32percent. On the other hand recruitment drives carried out less than a once year by the public sector is 43percent, which is higher than the private sector accounting for only 18percent. It was also found that organizations use various assessment center methods to recruit and select candidates. Few of the methods used by both the private and public sectors combined were Group Discussion (79.5percent), Structured interviews (77.5percent), Presentation (61.5percent), Personality Questionnaire (46.5percent). It was also observed that various applicants/ graduates have their own perception regarding the validity of various techniques used for the recruitment process. According to the applicants, interviews were perceived to be most relevant, followed by the Work sample test and then ability test. According to them Role-play and personality questionnaires were less relevant, with case study perceived to be the least relevant. Kandola, Wood and Dholakia. 2001. pp 27-38). John Billsberry (2007), during another research on various recruitment and selection process found a dichotomy between the reality and standard theories propounded by many intellectuals. He noted that British textbooks critically focus on various recruitment and selection processes/ techniques pointing out the strength and weakness of all of them. These critical reviews also advocates inclusion of various selection techniques like psychometric tests and assessment centers to supplement the traditional interview process. However, ground reality shows that the recruitment and selection process adopted by the majority of organizations does not include any such modern and effective techniques. The majority of organizations still follow the traditional selection technique of interviewing. Moreover, even the organizations following the modern techniques of selection do so to supplement the traditional interview method, rather than using them as independent selection tool. It clearly shows the disparity between what is preached as better recruitment and selection techniques and what is being practically followed by the industry. This conclusion on the part of John Billsberry is contradictory with the survey results of Kandola, Wood and Dholakia (2001) discussed above. John Billsberry also observed that almost all the recruitment and selection processes have a single lane focus. The process focuses on either the recruiter side or the applicant side, ignoring the desired two-lane communication between both of them. (Billsberry. 2007. pp 1-3) It should be noted that “Recruitment and Selection” is not a part process. Rather it is a long ongoing process, which begins from careful planning of human resource on the very onset. It begins with a head count on various departmental employees and forecasting the future demand for new recruits. The need for new recruits are calculated through various ways like forecasting annual turnover, retirement and else. Moreover, to recruit for a new post and even an existing post a detailed Job analysis and Job description should be made. Both of which requires detailed study of the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (commonly known as KSAOCs) related to the post. To fill the positions employers have two options – Internal Recruitment and External recruitment. (Pynes. 2004) In the case of Internal Recruitment, organization looks within the organization to recruit for a vacant/ new post. Internal recruitment can take the form of Internal Promotion, Transfer from other location, Job Enrichment and even Job Enlargement. For a better Internal recruitment, an organization should have a well-placed “Performance Appraisal Department” which tracks the performance of its existing employees. This helps the Department to identify anyone with desired KSAOCs needed for the particular post. (Pynes. 2004; Grobler and Warnich. 2006; Ployhart, Schneider, Schmitt. 2006) Internal recruitment is relatively much inexpensive way to fill up a vacant/ new post. It reduces cost by saving resources for advertisement and subsequent recruitment and selection process. Moreover, the cost of training and induction required for the new external recruit are also saved. Recruiting from within the organization also gives time to the administrators to review and evaluate the KSACOs of the existing employee, thus helping them to pinpoint the best fit. (Pynes 2004; Grobler and Warnich 2006; Ployhart, Schneider and Schmitt. 2006) In the case of External Recruitment, organization looks outside the organization to recruit for a vacant/ new post. External recruitment is relatively expensive in that expenses are incurred for recruitment advertising and subsequent selection process. Moreover, expenses are also sustained for the Induction and training process. External Recruitment takes the form of direct applications, employee referral, campus recruitment, employment agencies, heads hunting and poaching. (Pynes 2004; Grobler and Warnich 2006; Ployhart, Schneider and Schmitt. 2006) In external recruitment greater number of candidates can be screened than internal recruitment. Moreover, some specialized skills required for a particular post may not be found in an organization, making it impossible to recruit internally. Also, while recruiting for the mid-level and senior-level position external recruitment becomes necessary so as to avoid any kind of infighting and to keep the sanity within the organization. (Pynes. 2004; Grobler and Warnich. 2006; Ployhart, Schneider and Schmitt. 2006) Recruitment as a process also many a times has seen to be biased. Few of the studies have also shown that recruitment as a process favors more to candidates coming from specialized background than from liberal studies background. A study done by Micheal Useem (1989), regarding the correlation of Recruitment and Liberal education shows that the performance of the employee to a large extent depends on the kind of background he/she is having. He observed that an employee from the Liberal education background fares better than an employee who doesn’t have any such background. He also observed that the upper level management of many organizations advocates and supports the recruitment of pupil from liberal education background. Whereas, the lower level management who are actually into the recruitment process advocates for pupil having major in technical studies like engineering and management. According to Useem (1989), to change the policies and culture of recruitment process such that liberal education is encouraged the implementation should be done form the top-level management. (Useem 1989, pp 129- 132) Coming back to the facts closer to the topic, below are certain figures regarding the recruitment scenario in Europe and UK. “Federation Of European Employers” in its official website, fedee.com, observed that within Europe there exist a huge difference in the way organization are structured and operated. It was found that in the UK and Ireland managers are proportionately higher in number (1:5::Employee:Managers) relative to other employees. Whereas, in other European countries like France, Germany, Italy and so on, mangers are proportionately lesser in number (1:8-15::Employee:Managers). Fig.1 depicts it graphically. [ Fig.1 ] (Fedee, 2009) It was also observed that among the medium-large companies the proportion of the professionally qualified human resource staffs relative to the other employees are much higher in UK than rest of the EU. On one hand where UK has a ratio of 1:127, the rest of the EU (excluding Sweden and Ireland) the average ratio is 1: 2,790. The reason behind the higher ratio in rest of the Europe was found to be the restriction of membership of HR staff from professional bodies. Although many HR practitioners/staffs are performing various routine HR and administrative activities, still only the senior HR practitioners have the membership to the professional HR bodies. In the backdrop of all the findings, it can easily be concluded that the concept and practice of Human Resource Management in UK is further ahead than the rest of Europe. Thus, there is no/ question regarding the authenticity of various HR companies prevailing in the UK. One of such HR concern is “Sheffield City Council - Human Resources.” “Sheffield City Council” in its webpage “Sheffield City Council Online Job Vacancies” of its official website has provided five steps to ease the recruitment process (Online) for any potential candidate. The steps are discussed below: The first step includes, “Selection of Job Vacancy” under two categories namely “General Job” and “School Job”. The second step includes, “Searching and Selecting” the type of Job needed. Provision of filtering job according to date and relevancy is also available. The third step provides “Job Description and Job Specifications” are, making it easier for the candidate to decide the suitability of his/her candidature. The fourth step includes the “additional Information” sheet which provides various other relevant topics, like instructions to fill the Job application, working life in the chosen company, information regarding holiday, sick leaves etc. And the last and final step is all about forwarding the online application to the relevant authority. Thus, it can be seen that “Sheffield City Council” has given much emphasize on the external recruitment process than the Internal Recruitment process. It can be concluded to certain extent from the “Sheffield City Council Online Job Vacancies” webpage, where it took much pain to advertise to the outside candidates regarding the ways recruitment and selection process is undertaken. Moreover, from the data available to the outside world it can be seen that “Sheffield City Council” doesn’t have any valid policies and guidelines regarding internal recruitment. Methodology: Before undergoing any research five Ws should be kept in mind. What is the research all about? Why the research is undertaken? Who are the Research participants? Where will the research be conducted? When will the research be undertaken? (Dawson, 2002) While conducting a research an appropriate method ought to be followed for obtaining desired level of outcome. The reliability and validity of the research outcomes depends on the method followed during the research. After the main research issue is determined an appropriate research design should be formulated which will then be religiously followed throughout the whole research process. Research method varies with the type, aims and objectives of the research. Before deciding on any particular research method, it is necessary to evaluate the pros and cons of this method on the basis of research outcomes of the past studies. In the case of this research, an extensive review of a number of existing literatures on the “Recruitment and Selection Process” is done. In addition, specific literatures on recruitment industry of Europe and UK are also studied to understand the in-depth scenario of the research topic. Along with the Quantitative method applied in the research methodology, Qualitative methods were also used. Few of the employees recruited by the “Sheffield City Council” were interviewed to understand their viewpoint over the current recruitment and selection process adopted b the City Council. Research Technique: Research techniques are generally of two types – quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research techniques are all about applying the scientific and logical method to understand and derive a conclusion regarding a particular situation. Quantitative method as discussed by Daniel Muijs is “Discussing a situation by collecting data and then analyzing them through various mathematical methods”. (Mujis, 2006) Qualitative research techniques on the other hand, tend to use multiple methods that are interactive and humanistic. The researcher’s enquiry is based on the opinion and views provided by the participants in a particular situation. (Marshall and Rossman, 2006) Many a time researchers also use a ‘mixed-method’ approach, where both the Quantitative and Qualitative methods are applied. Many researchers and intellectuals have favorable views regarding combining both Qualitative and Quantitative research. According to them combing these two methods are complementary, developmental and informational. (Greene, Caracelli and Graham, 1989). Cited by Corbin and Strauss. In this particular research, a mixed approach is applied. On one hand, quantitative research techniques are used to find out the structure of existing “Recruitment and Selection Process”. On the other hand, Qualitative techniques are also used to find out the ways in which employees perceive the present “Recruitment and Selection Process”. Findings and Analysis: Before proceeding towards the findings of the research undertaken by our part it would be better to focus on similar research results undertaken by other researchers. Many of the earlier research regarding the “Recruitment and Selection process” in Europe and UK in particular are discussed hereafter. It was found that the Recruitment and Selection process undertaken by the “Hampton Police Division” follows one of the most modern recruitment processes. It includes many of the techniques like psychometric test and assessment centre. As found in the official website “hampton.gov/police”, the selection process consisted of the following steps: Similarly, the fire department of Cheshire, UK has chalked out a seven-step recruitment process for their department. The first step includes Submission of application by the applicants duly filled up as desired. The second step includes written test, which includes National Firefighter Selection Tests, National Firefighter Ability Tests and a National Firefighter Questionnaire. The third step is about Practical tests, followed by the interview conducted by a panel of members in the fourth step. The fifth step includes the medical examination. Referencing from a previous employee and an outside reference is sought in the sixth step. Once all these steps are complete, the Department offers the applicant a place on a Trainee firefighting course. The last step includes undergoing the course at a set venue. Thus, it can be seen that Recruitment and Selection process varies from organization to organization. From the above two instances it can easily be said that most of the organization has a set process for “External Recruitment”. In today’s competitive world, recruiting a right person at the right place at the right time has also become a challenge to reckon with. Various surveys and research has shown that in few of the areas selecting the right candidate is becoming tougher in England. According to “Sheffield Governors Guide” following trends have set the alarm bell ringing loudly for recruiting “Primary Head teacher”. Since 2000 around 30percent of Primary schools, looking for “Head teacher” has failed to get any appointment after giving the first advertisement/ recruitment notification. The figure rose to 37percent during the year 2006-07. The average numbers of applications for the post of “Head teacher” has seen a steady decline over years. In the year, 2006-07 the average number of applications received across various schools for the post of “Head teacher” has dipped to around five. A trend of declining interest of candidates for the post of “Deputy Head teacher” has come to light. In the year 2006-07, the application for the same was comparatively less than the previous years. In the light of above findings, it becomes imperative to discuss the findings from the Survey undertaken among the employee, recruited by the “Sheffield City Council”. The survey was conducted randomly and has covered 11percent top Level employees, 61percent Middle Level employees and 28 percent Lower level employees. Among the surveyed employees, it was found that 58percent of the present employees have been working for more than 5 years; Employees working for 3-5 years were around 11percent. Another bunch of 22 percent employees has been working for 1-2 years. Employees working for only 6 months – 1 year were least with only 9percent. Among all the surveyed employees, satisfaction levels with their current job were found to be quite high. Around 41percent employees were found to be satisfied, with 14percent of additional employee very satisfied. 17percent of the employee chose to be neutral. Among the dissatisfied employees, 3percent were very dissatisfied and 25percent somewhat dissatisfied. Among the various reasons behind the dissatisfaction “Lack of career advancement and promotion” was found to be the major bane of contention. On administering, the question whether they are satisfied with the current recruitment process 41percent sidelined themselves as neutral, 30percent were somewhat dissatisfied and additional 8percent were totally dissatisfied. However, in the opposite pole 4percent were found to be very satisfied and another 17percent somewhat satisfied. According to few of the dissenters, there should be proper mechanisms for a better performance appraisal mechanism and corresponding career advancement strategies. It was found that employees were not happy about the recruitment process as it does not gives them a fair chance to compete for a new/ vacant post. The recruitment process was found to be much more focused on the external applicants. Few of the dissenters have even opined that the City Council should have a proper policy and mechanisms for internal recruitment. According to them it will not only help the “City Council” to cut recruitment costs but will also motivate the present employees to work more efficiently. When asked for suggestion regarding reforms for the current recruitment process, an overwhelming majority of employee amounting to 48percent suggested provision for internal recruitment. Other suggestions include online recruitment advertisement (15percent), Availability of Online job application (18percent), Transparency in declaring the selected candidate (11percent). From all these findings it can be clearly concluded that the “Recruitment and Selection” process followed by the “Sheffield City Council” needs an overhaul. Moreover, the absence of a “Performance Appraisal” process linked with the “Recruitment and Selection” process has made the whole recruitment method seem like an outdated one. It was found that the “Sheffield City Council HR” doesn’t have any Succession planning strategies in place for the personnel it recruits. It not only compels them to look outside for new applicants to fill a vacant/new post, but also increases the expenditure in recruitment from outside source. Conclusion In the wake of the findings on the “Recruitment and Selection” process undertaken by the “Sheffield City Council”, it is conclusive that the recruitment process needs some fresh restructuring. The recruitment process of “Sheffield City Council” lacks long term planning. It is this lacking, which disables it to have a proper “Recruitment and Selection” method. Thus, few of the suggestion, which could be noteworthy to improve the existing “Recruitment and Selection” process, are discussed henceforth. The “City Council HR” should have a proper “Performance Appraisal” process that in turn is linked with the “Recruitment” process. This will help the HR department to search and find out the best possible candidates available within the organization for a vacant/ new post. Thus with the help of Internal Recruitment process the “City Council” will get a two old advantage. On one hand, the expenses of recruitment will drastically come down and on the other hand, employee will feel more motivated to work, as they will feel that better performance would help them promote to a better position. (Currie, 2006) In the end it should also be noted that “The City Council HR” would be better placed if it focuses on Succession planning for the higher posts as studies has shown that there is a drought of qualified applicants for such post. Appendix: Notes on the Questionnaire on the Project “Review of the recruitment process in the public sector” Surveyed Public Sector Organization: Sheffield City Council The interviewees are all of the employees of the organization who has undergone formal recruitment processes. All of the interviewees are taken from all of the sections of the organization. The same set of questionnaire will be administered to each interviewee. Review of the recruitment process in the public sector (Questionnaire) 1. Your name _____________________________________________ 2. Age _____________________________________________ 3. Sex _____________________________________________ 4. Educational level a. Sub degree b. First degree c. Masters degree and above 5. Organization where you work presently _____________________________________________ 6. Which of the following best describes the department you work for? a. Customer Service b. Finance/Accounting c. MIS d. Sales/Marketing e. Human Resources 7. Which of the following best describes your position here? a. Clerical b. Technician c. Managerial d. Accounting e. Project Manager f. Other 8. What level of management best describes your position? a. Top management b. Middle management c. Lower management d. Operator 9. How long have you worked in this organization? a. Less than 6 months b. 6 months – 1 year c. 1-2 years d. 3-5 years e. More than 5 years 10. Overall how satisfied are you with your position at this company? a. Dissatisfied b. Somewhat dissatisfied c. Neutral d. Satisfied e. Very Satisfied f. N/A 11. Do you feel that employees are recognized as individuals? a. always b. usually c. sometimes d. rarely e. never f. not sure 12. The organization clearly communicates its goals and strategies to me? a. strongly disagree b. somewhat disagree c. neutral d. somewhat agree e. strongly agree f. N/A 13. How flexible is the organization with respect to your family responsibilities? a. very inflexible b. somewhat inflexible c. neutral d. somewhat flexible e. very flexible 14. Do you take part in your organization’s flextime program? Yes _________ No _________ 15. What were the pre-employment checks for you? a. Verification of identity checks b. Right to work checks c. Registration and qualification checks d. Employment history and reference checks e. Criminal record checks f. Occupational health checks 16. The workload is same as declared at the time of recruitment. a. strongly disagree b. somewhat disagree c. neutral d. somewhat agree e. strongly agree f. N/A 17. The job benefits are same as declared at the time of recruitment. a. strongly disagree b. somewhat disagree c. neutral d. somewhat agree e. strongly agree f. N/A 18. The organization clearly communicated its goals and strategies to meat the time of recruitment? a. strongly disagree b. somewhat disagree c. neutral d. somewhat agree e. strongly agree f. N/A 19. I have a clear path for career advancement. a. strongly disagree b. somewhat disagree c. neutral d. somewhat agree e. strongly agree f. N/A 20. Would you refer a friend to apply for a job at this company? a. definitely b. probably c. not sure d. probably not e. definitely not 21. What type of recruitment process you experienced at your time? a. Only first round interview b. First round interview followed by written test c. Only written test d. Written test followed by interview e. First round followed by second round interview f. Interview – Written test - Interview 22. Are you satisfied with that recruitment process? a. definitely b. probably c. not sure d. probably not e. definitely not 23. Do you think any reform in the recruitment process is needed? Yes ___________ No ______________ 24. What are the reforms you suggest in the recruitment process? a. Online advertisement b. Online application c. Job details on web d. Details of the applicants on web e. Outsourced recruitment agency f. Online results References: 1. Billsberry, John. 2007. Experiencing Recruitment & Selection. England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2. Currie, D. 2006. INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RESOURESES MANAGEMENT, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 3. Fedee, 2009. Human resource management in an expanding Europe, available at: http://www.fedee.com/accession2.shtml (accessed on November 9, 2009) 4. Grobler, P A and Warnich, S. 2006. Human Resource Management in South Africa. London: Thomson Learning 5. Kandola, R. Wood, R and Dholakia, B. 2001. The Graduate Recruitment Model. England: Gower Publishing Limited. 6. Lou, A. 2002. Hire with Your Head: Using Power Hiring to Build Great Companies. New Jersey, USA. John Wiley & Sons. 7. Pynes , J. 2004. Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations. San Fransico: Jossey-Bass. 8. Ployhart , R E. Schneider, B. and Schmitt, N. 2006. Staffing Organizations: Contemporary practice and theory; Lawrence Erblum Associates, Inc, Publishers, New Jersey. 9. Marshall, C and Rossman, G B. 2006. Designing Qualitative research. California, USA: Sage Publications. 10. Muijs, D. 2006. Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. London. Sage Publication. 11. The Recruitment Process. 2009. Eu-careers.com. Available at: http://www.eu-careers.com/recruitmentprocess.htm. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 12. Recruitment VS Selection. n.d., Available at: http://recruitment.naukrihub.com/recruitment-vs-selection.html. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 13. Human resource management in an expanding Europe. 2009. Fedee.com., Available at: http://www.fedee.com/accession2.shtml. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 14. Sheffield City Council Online Job Vacancies. 2008. sheffield.gov.uk. Available at: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/whats-new/job-vacancies. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 15. Schefield: Human Resources, n.d. Schefield City Council, available at: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/education/services-to-schools/leaf/human-resources (accessed on November 9, 2009) 16. Staff recruitment. 2009. sheffield.gov.uk. Available at: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/education/schoolgovernors/guidanceandusefullinks/staffrecruitment. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 17. Recruiting. n.d. hampton.gov/police. Available at: http://www.hampton.gov/police/recruiting/index.html. (Accessed on 14/ 10/09) 18. Useem, M. 1989. Liberal education and the corporation: the hiring and advancement of college”. New York, Aldine De Gruyter. Read More