HR management , managing people for competitive advantage - Essay Example

?[Your full full July 11, Recruitment Before going into the discussion regarding how human resource department of a company can manage the employees for achieving competitive advantage, let us get a brief overview of what competitive advantage actually is in order to get a better understanding of the issue. About competitive advantage, Olsen states, “It is what you do best that draws customers to buy your product/service instead of your competitor's”. Competitive advantage provides many considerable benefits to the companies, such as, increase in the levels of productivity, increase in the profits, and creation of a loyal client base. Some of the factors, which contribute towards achievement of competitive advantage in the market, include good public relations strategy, effective business management strategy, provision of premium quality products to the consumers, and a talented and efficient workforce. Effective marketing strategies also play a great role in making a company achieve and maintain competitive advantage. About the importance of marketing strategies in this regard, Tatum states, “Aggressive and appealing marketing campaigns can help to establish a company and its product line as being highly desirable”. Implementation of generic business strategies and presence of an efficient workforce are two of the most important factors behind achievement of competitive advantage in the market. In this paper, we will discuss what recruitment is and how human resource department of a company can manage the workforce for achieving competitive advantage. Recruitment and Management of Effective Workforce Recruitment is the process of selecting right candidates for a company. It is the responsibility of the human resource department of a company to recruit best employees from the pool of applicants. The process of recruitment plays a very considerable role in the success of a company in any market. “The purpose of selection is to match people to work” (Roberts 3). If HR managers select the employees based on their qualification and experience, it definitely helps the company achieve good results in the market because employees are the foundations of a company’s success. A skilled workforce is the backbone of a company. Employees work for the production of high quality products, which is one of the main factors for the achievement of competitive advantage. Along with the process of recruitment, effective management of the workforce is also very important in order to achieve competitive advantage. HR department is mainly responsible for the management of all issues related to employees. If employees are satisfied with a company, they work with more commitment and dedication, which brings more benefits to the company in the form of increased productivity and profitability. Therefore, managers need to take care of all needs of the employees in order to make them competitive and productive for the company. Recruitment is a very sensitive process because success of a company primarily depends on the number of proficient and skilled employees working for the company. Some companies make use of recruitment agencies for the selection of right candidates. About recruitment agencies, Worth states, “Such agencies are experts in evaluating a hiring company's needs against the skills and experience of job seekers”. The HR management of the company contacts recruitment agencies whenever the company needs new employees. Recruitment agencies advertise jobs through different media, collect resumes of the candidates, interview potential candidates, match employee skills with hiring company’s requirements, and maintain a proper database of all candidates. The management staff of the company provides all details to the agencies, which helps the agencies recruit best employees for the company. Such details include job description, job responsibilities, list of required and preferred education, required skills and experience, and the pay scale. Based on these requirements, the agencies find the candidates who best match the company’s needs. According to Shah, the chief consultant in a management-consulting firm, employers make use of some key steps for the selection of best candidates. Those steps include understanding the purpose of recruitment, sourcing the right candidate, gathering basic information, interviewing the candidates, presenting profiles to the higher management, and recruiting the best candidate. Let us discuss these steps in some detail in order to know their validity in the process of employee recruitment and selection. Understanding the Purpose of Recruitment Understanding of the technical requirements and the entire environment is very crucial for the managers at this stage. Managers also need to know why the vacancy is there and why previous employee has left this position. Managers need to understand all aspects of the available vacancy in order to hire an employee who can help the company achieve competitive advantage in the market through exhibition of appropriate skills and abilities. Sourcing the Right person Next important step in the process of recruitment is sourcing the right candidate for the available vacancy. Managers need to match the skills and qualifications with the requirements of the vacancy in order to select right candidate for the vacancy. Analysis of the candidates’ skills plays a considerable role in deciding whether any specific employee should be called for interview or not. Managers always have a huge concern towards achievement of competitive advantage through hiring highly talented candidates for managerial, technical, and sales staff positions. Therefore, managers take every measure to ensure good replacement for any previous employee. Gathering Basic Information Analyzing the current situation of the candidates also play a very important role in the recruitment process. Understanding of the hidden aspects of a candidate, such as, marital status, family background, and hobbies is very important in order to know the level of commitment, which a candidate can show towards his/her job. For example, if a company hires a female employee who has recently married someone, there are chances for her to request the management for maternity leave. The leave will make the company suffer because that employee will not be there to work for the company. Therefore, management needs to hire committed and hard working employees in order to ensure competitive advantage in the market. Interviewing the Candidates The process of interviewing is one of the most crucial ways to know whether a candidate can help the company achieve competitive advantage or not. During interview, management and the interviewee sit in front of each other, which is a good way to judge the confidence level of the candidate. Management can also judge the candidates from their body language, facial expressions, and attitude, which they show during the interview. An employee with low confidence is less likely to achieve goals in a competitive manner as compared to a highly confident employee. Therefore, employers prefer to hire such candidates who show confidence, interest, and enthusiasm during the interview. Presenting Profiles and Recruiting the Best Candidate Next step in the process of recruitment is to present selected profiles to the higher management for the final selection. Recruiters do not short-list just one profile for the final selection; rather they present 4 to 5 good profiles to the higher management for final selection. “Once a recruiter has shortlisted one profile, he should wait for few more to get shortlisted” (Shah). After short-listing the candidates, recruiters leave it up to the choice of the management to select the most appropriate profile from the list. HR managers analyze all profiles and select the most suitable one for the vacancy based on the needs of the company. Summing it up, managers always try to recruit best candidate for any specific post because qualified and experienced employees can ensure competitive advantage for the company. Therefore, managers take every decision regarding recruitment based on the goals and objectives of the company in order to recruit such individuals who can help the company achieve those goals and objectives in an appropriate manner. Works Cited Olsen, Erica. “Competitive Advantage – Building A Lasting organization.” About.com, n.d. Web. 11 Jul. 2011. Roberts, Gareth. Recruitment and Selection: A Competitive Approach. Wiltshire: The Cromwell Press, 1997. Print. Shah, Darshan. “7 Steps for Right and Effective Recruitment.” Ezinearticles.com, 05 May 2009. Web. 11 Jul. 2011. Tatum, Malcolm. “What is a Competitive Advantage?.” Wisegeek.com, n.d. Web. 11 Jul. 2011. Worth, Maggie. “What Do Recruitment Agencies Do?.” Wisegeek.com, n.d. Web. 11 Jul. 2011. Read More