Recruitment & Selection for the Post of Financial Analyst in Qantas Airline - Assignment Example

Human Resources Planning, Recruitment & Selection Report for the Post of Financial Analyst in Qantas Airline Name: College: Course: Lecturer: Date Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………3 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….4 Key Selection Criteria………………………………………………………………….....4 Methods of Recruitment…………………………………………………………………..6 Selection Strategy…………………………………………………………………………8 Conducting Aptitude Test……………………………………………………………..8 Conducting an Interview………………………………………………………………9 Decision Process…………………………………………………………………………10 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….11 References………………………………………………………………………………..12 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………14 Re: Human Resources Planning, Recruitment & Selection Report for the Post of Financial Analyst in Qantas Airline Executive Summary The human resource manager of Qantas Airline should use effective selection criteria, effective recruitment method, effective selection methods and effective recruitment decision making process to appoint the most suitable applicant for financial analyst job. Qualification requirements of the suitable candidate should be based on duties expected to be executed by financial analyst in order for an effective selection criteria to be observed. In order to recruit the most suitable applicants for the post of financial analyst, various methods of recruitment should be employed. Website advertisement, newspaper advertisement and use of recruitment agencies are the most effective recruitment methods which will attract the most suitable candidates for the financial analyst job. In order to select the most suitable applicant for the post of financial analyst, two methods of selection notably aptitude test and interview should be employed. Aptitude test is an important selection method since it measures intelligence and skills of the applicants. Conducting an interview during selection process is paramount since it ensures that best person for the job is appointed based solely on suitability and merit. Various effective decisions must be made by the panelists. The panelists must make final decision based on eligibility and merits of the candidates in order to obtain the most suitable candidate and avoid legal issues. Introduction Hiring suitable new employees within a business organization is one of the challenges faced by many human resource managers. However, effective human resources planning, recruitment criteria and selection criteria enables human resource managers to recruit the right people for the right job thus reducing the cost of training and employee turnover (Chris 2008, p.74). Qantas Airline has advertised a job vacancy for a financial analyst to be based at Melbourne Airport. In order for a human resource manager to attain an effective recruitment of the financial analyst, he/she should use effective selection criteria. Besides, the human resource manager should use effective methods of recruitment to attract appropriate pool of applicants. Moreover, use of effective selection methods and decision process should be embraced to select the most suitable applicant for the post of financial analyst. Effective human resource planning, effective recruitment and selection criteria are essential for hiring the most suitable candidate for the post of financial analyst in Qantas Airline (Daniel 2009, p298). Key Selection Criteria An effective key selection criterion is a fundamental element for recruitment of appropriate person to occupy the financial analyst vacancy. To start with, appropriate candidate must hold a degree in finance or other related disciplines from a recognized tertiary institution. A degree in finance or related field is very essential since the financial analyst will participate in strategic duties which require high degree of knowledge. For instance, the financial analyst will be required to manage and deliver business unit plans and budgets in a timely and precise manner (Vemon 2002, p.14). The financial analyst will have an obligation to deliver comprehensive cost analysis for operational budgets of all business units to reflect current demand of services and prevailing strategy of entire business organization. These duties are very challenging thus require an individual with high degree of knowledge on financial issues (Daniel 2009, p301). Besides, the ideal candidate must have professional accounting qualification. Being a public company, Qantas Airline requires its financial strategic operation to be carried out by professional accountants. In other words, the ideal candidate must possess a certificate of certified public accountant or should be on his/her last levels of certified public accountant program (Neville 2009, p.16). This is because, the financial analyst is supposed to assist the management team on matters regarding accounting processing calendar, review of financial statements, journal entry and adjustments. Such obligations require the candidate to have better background of accounting thus a certified public accountant will carry out the task effectively (Edenborough 2007, p.104). Moreover, the ideal candidate must possess effective financial analysis and system skills since he is supposed to carry out financial analysis which will enable airport managers and financial control to make effective business decisions. Moreover, the financial analyst is required to establish, execute and manage models to enhance forecasting analysis and help in budgeting thus making system skills to be prerequisite. Strong project management skills are also paramount for the ideal candidate since the financial analyst will be required to assist financial controller on training project managers (Khattri 1998, p.71). The financial analyst will have an obligation to coach project managers in identifying and tracking the value of financial benefits in business projects. In addition, the ideal candidate must have excellent knowledge on strategic and concepts influencing the operation of a large business organization. This feature is very important since the financial analyst will be entitled to identify opportunities to streamline processes especially in financial department (Edenborough 2007, p.104). The ideal candidate should also be able to deliver reliable and precise information and manage any conflicting priorities effectively. The financial analyst will be required to give out supporting financial data to airport business support team and financial controller to facilitate establishment of financial evaluations in support of major investments and projects of the airline (Hudson 2008, p.28). Besides, the ideal candidate must be a team player since he will be required to coordinate with other managers and accountants in making critical financial decisions. In addition, the ideal candidate must possess strong problem solving and interpersonal skills. The job of financial analyst entails frequent interaction with both internal and external stakeholders thus interpersonal skills will be necessary. Lastly, excellent communication and presentation skills are very important for the ideal candidate. The financial analyst will be required to present financial analysis reports to managers and financial controller thus making the quality of excellent communication skills a prerequisite (Edenborough 2007, p.104). Methods of Recruitment In order to recruit the most suitable applicants for the post of financial analyst, various methods of recruitment should be employed. One of the effective methods of recruitment is use of recruitment agencies. Recruitment agency will enable the business organization to find the best financial analysts to meet its specific requirements. Bearing in mind that the standard of each company vary based on their way of balancing cost and quality, organizations have varied requirements (Roberts 1997, p.154). In this regard, Qantas Airline has its requirements which can be met effectively by a good recruitment agency such as MyCareer. Com. The fact that the recruitment of financial analyst staff is difficult due to shortage of finance professionals in the market leaves recruitment agencies as the most efficient method of recruitment. A recruitment agency will enable the business organization to overcome the obstacle of shortage of finance analysts since it reaches many individuals in the labor market. Many job seekers have registered with recruitment agencies and they usually visit their websites often to check for advertised vacancies. Moreover, recruitment agencies require only a little fee to advertise job vacancies thus been less costly (Fox & Taylor 2000, p.94). Job advertisement through newspapers and airline website is another effective method which should be utilized to recruit suitable applicants. It is evident that job seekers usually go through newspapers with an aim of bumping into a job opening. Though advertising through the newspapers is likely to be more costly, it is likely to link the airline with suitable job applicants for the position of financial analyst (Rich 2009, p.17). The third recruitment method which should be utilized by the airline is use of its website to advertise the job vacancy. The major advantage of using the website of the airline is that it leads to recruitment of only those individuals who are interested in the airline. Job seekers who are interested in working with the airline will always visit the website with an aim of identifying a suitable vacancy. Recruiting individuals who are interested in working with the company will have a positive impact on the productivity and competitiveness of the airline. Self motivation of new employee is likely to be experienced if the new employee is interested in working with the company. Besides, this is the cheapest method of recruitment since the website is owned by the company thus no extra cost is incurred by airline. A combination of three recruitment methods will ensure that the company recruits an appropriate pool of applicants (Rahul 2008, 171). Selection Strategy Gaining a pool of potentially suitable applicant is not a guarantee getting the most suitable applicant for the post of financial analyst. Effective selection methods and decision process need to be used to select the most suitable applicant. In order to select the most suitable applicant for the post of financial analyst, two methods of selection notably aptitude test and interview should be employed (Vemon 2002, p.19). Conducting Aptitude Test Aptitude test is an important selection method since it measures intelligence and skills of the applicants. Both acquired and natural skills of the applicants can be measured effectively by use of aptitude tests. Specifically, aptitude test should be designed in such a manner to measure verbal, numerical and spatial reasoning. The airline can gauge the ability of applicants to learn new skills within the financial discipline. Contacting an aptitude test will enable the airline to identify those applicants who have natural talent and flair in financial analysis. In workplace setting, individuals who apply their natural personalities, talents and aptitudes usually perform better than the others (Philip & Wesley 2008, p.206). This is because they are more motivated and creative as compared to those who don’t apply their natural talents and personalities. In this regard, aptitude will help immensely in determining the most appropriate applicant for the post of financial analyst (Vemon 2002, p.19). Aptitude tests will enable the human resource managers to identify and explore applicants’ inner motivation, strengths as well as personal interests. Moreover, through aptitude tests, the managers will be in a position to identify interests of applicants matching core personality traits to the financial analysis job. Selecting an individual with interests matching the core personality traits for the job will increase the competitiveness of the airline. Besides, by conducting an aptitude test the human resource manager will be in a position to identify preferred work style of the applicants thus being able to determine the ideal field of the applicants precisely. Aptitude tests help in turning work into passion through matching careers with applicants’ interests and traits. The aptitude tests should contain basic arithmetic, grammar as well as common knowledge questions (Vemon 2002, p.19). Conducting an Interview Successful candidates in the aptitude test should be subjected to an interview to determine the most suitable person for the job. Conducting an interview during selection process is paramount since it ensures that best person for the job is appointed based solely on suitability and merit. Since the post of financial analyst is a permanent job, the interview should be conducted by a panel. The human resource manager is supposed to select the interview panel members and inform them in advance (Tara 2008, p.34). Informing the panel in advance enables them to prepare themselves with relevant interview questions. While choosing the interview panel members, the human resource manager should ensure that the panel consists of at least two members. Moreover, the panel members should reflect diversity existing in the airline. In other words, in case of a panel members should be mixed in terms of gender, race and age if possible (Araoz 2009, p.74). Besides, for an interview to be successful, at least one of the panel members must have received a professional training on recruitment. In other words, the panel must consist of a senior staff from human resources department. Moreover, all panelists must be conversant with anti-discrimination legislation to avoid creation of legal issues (Torrington 2008, p.210). The best candidate must be selected based on academic and professional qualifications but not on race, age or gender. The human resource manager should ensure that all panelists are wiling and able to attend all interviews for the entire duration of recruitment process. Consistency of interview panel members is crucial since it ensures that all candidates are given a fair treatment (Thomas 1992, p.122). The human resource manager is supposed to schedule dates and time for the interviews and notifies the short listed candidates. The interview must be thorough, systematic, unbiased, fair, job related, rational as well as objective for it to be effective. During the interview, each candidate must be treated consistently irregardless of race, gender or age (Seward 2004, p.64). In other words, the aspect of discrimination should not prevail before, during and even after the interview. The candidates should be asked similar initial questions during the interview. Besides, the panel should supplement their understanding of the applicants’ responses by asking follow up questions accordingly. Give adequate time for candidates to respond to questions is very important in trying to understand the intelligence and skills of the applicants effectively (Leighton 2006, p.108). Decision Process In order to appoint the most suitable candidate, various effective decisions must be made by the panelists. The panelists must make final decision based on eligibility and merits of the candidates (Ryan 2008, p.24). The merit and eligibility of the applicants should be judged based on the content of the application, academic and professional qualifications, interview and aptitude test performance as well as right to work in Australia. Besides, while selecting the suitable candidate, the panel should ensure that the candidate is likely to promote the values of the Qantas Airline. Besides, the managers must verify the authenticity, consistency and honesty of the candidate information to ensure that merit and eligibility is awarded to the candidate accordingly (David 2008, p.9). Conclusion Human resource planning, recruitment and selection are a challenging task for human resource managers in business organizations. However, use of effective recruitment strategies, selection strategies and reliable decision making process will enable human resource managers of Qantas Airline to mitigate this issue during the recruitment of a financial analyst. Critical analysis of the qualification requirement and responsibilities of the financial analyst enable human resource managers to come up with effective selection criteria. Recruitment agencies, website advertisements and newspaper advertisements are most appropriate methods of recruitment for a financial analyst in Qantas Airline. Selection methods such as a panel interview and aptitude test will enable the company to select the most suitable candidate for the post of financial analyst. The panelists must make final selection decision based on eligibility and merits of the candidates. A proper human resource planning, effective recruitment and selection methods enable a business organization to recruit the most suitable candidate thus enhancing its competitiveness in the market. References Araoz, F 2009, ‘The definitive guide to recruiting in good times and bad,’ Harvard Business Review, vol.87, no.74-84. 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