Recruitment and Selection Methods and Processes Used by B&M - Dissertation Example

?CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4 KEY THEMES This study reviews current recruitment and selection processes within B&M. The researcher therefore built four major thematic areas to look into critically. These four areas were Recruitment and Selection Methods used at B&M, Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Recruitment and Selection Process at B&M, Reward Package as way of attracting and retaining employees of B&M and Degree of fairness in Recruitment and Selection at B&M. The researcher’s collection of data was thus based on these four themes. To get accurate data on these themes, the researcher adopted the use of face-to-face interview with workers of the company. Interview was the only instrument used because of the size of the organisation which has only six workers. Fig. 4.1 Key Themes The findings and analysis shall also include basic information on employees of B&M and their views on how they think management of B&M can improve on recruitment and selection process in the future and how management can retain workers who come into the company. 4.2 PRESENTATION AND DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS/FINDINGS Background Information on the Company and Workers B&M is a non profit organisation that offers free advice on issues relating to housing, money, debt, and welfare benefits services to the members of community. The company is located in London. It has been operating for more than forty (40) years and has been supported by the government such as The Home Office, City Council, and Community Initiative; Local Housing Association and Charity donations. The company recruits both paid and unpaid workers from the community and it has been run by voluntary committee of Management. The size of the organisation is very small consisting of operation manager, money advisor, debt advisor, administrator and volunteers to deliver the service. The sample for the interview was made up of five out of six workers of the company who were all females. The gender imbalance resulted because there is no male on the staff of the company. All workers interviewed were aged between 20 and 50 years. The interview revealed that three out of the five participants are full time workers whereas the remaining two are student-workers. All the fulltime workers are degree holders whereas the two students are working towards their degree as social workers. On the role of workers in the company, all two (2) student-workers are trainee case workers. One (1) fulltime worker is a case worker, one (1) is a senior case worker and the other one (1) is the operations manager of the company. All participants acknowledged that their roles were very important in the running of the company. Among the five workers interviewed, the two student-workers have worked in the company for three and four months respectively. All the three full time workers have worked in B&M for three years. It was however revealed that the operations manager has over twenty years of experience working in similar work set up. Recruitment and Selection Methods and Processes used by B&M Recruitment as the recruitment is the process of identifying and hiring best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost effective manner (www.businessdictionary.com). When a company recruits from among its existing workers, we say they are practicing internal recruitment. On the other hand, when the company involves people who are outside its staff base in the recruitment, it is said to be undertaking external method of recruitment. Because of the staff size of B&M, the organisation uses external recruitment and selection method exclusively to get applicants to apply for vacancies. The mode of advertisement for vacancies, according to participants was mainly through the use of local community newspaper and university career employability. Reasons given by fulltime workers on why the organisation uses of community newspaper was that the organisation did not have enough funds to run expensive and wide range advertisement. It was also said that the community wanted to attract only local community members to satisfy the needs of the community in which B&M operates. The operations managers also commented that because of the size of the organisation, they wanted to cut down the size of possible applicants as much as possible. On the general assessment of the effectiveness of the advertisement method used by B&M, two (2) participants rated it as very good, another two (2) rated it as good whereas one (1) participant rated it as average. Table 4.1 shows workers’ rating of the effectiveness of the advertisement method used by B&M to advertise for vacancies. Table 4.1 Effectiveness of Advertisement Method used to Advertise Vacancy Rating Number of Participants Percentage (%) Poor Average Good Very good - 1 2 2 - 20 40 40 Total 5 100 Concerning job description and personal specification prepared by the organisation for recruiting employees, the general impression of workers who were interviewed was that the job description and personal specification were well explained and detailed. A good job description describes into details Title; Location; Responsible to; Responsible for; Main purpose of job; Key activities; Working conditions and Other duties. A good job specification on the other hand relates to human characteristics and attributes. Provide the basis for setting up the recruitment process - i.e. define the attributes - skills, knowledge and experience required (Armstrong (2003). Three (3) out of the five participants said the job description and specification was very good whereas two (2) people said it was good. The table below shows worker’s impression of the job description and personal specification data prepared by B&M Table 4.2 Assessment of Job Description and Personal Specification prepared for Jobseekers Rating Number of Participants Percentage (%) Poor Average Good Very good - - 2 3 - - 40 60 Total 5 100 On the management of response to applicants, almost all applicants expressed satisfaction saying response was very quick. Two (2) of the applicants rated the management of response as very good whereas three (3) applicants rated it as very good. Talking about short listing of successful applicants, worker expressed satisfaction at the method for short listing applicants. The operations manager explained that the selection theme matched skill job required and job description. Relating their individual skill to the fact that they all got a place to be employed by B&M, four (4) out of the five workers interviewed rated the short listing process as good whereas one (1) member rated it as very good. The last stage on the recruitment and selection process is the appointment of a winning candidate. All workers expressed satisfaction at the speed with which the appointment is done. Two (2) members rated the appointment action as very good whereas three (3) rated it as good. The table below shows the time within which individual workers were appointed after they were interviewed by the recruitment and selection team of the company. Table 4.3 Time for taking Appointment Action after Job Interview Time for Appointment Action Number of Participants Percentage (%) Less than 2 weeks Within 2 weeks After 2 weeks Within a month After a month - 5 - - - - 100 - - - Total 5 100 Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Recruitment and Selection Process Basically, an efficient recruitment is one that is done successfully without an excessive waste of unplanned money, time and resources. An effective recruitment and selection process on the other hand is one that is completed with the recruitment and selection team getting the most appropriate person for the job vacancy. To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of recruitment and selection process at B&M, the researcher interviewed workers on their assessment and impression of their own interview, induction arrangements, and the review processes they have been taken through since they started work at B&M. To be effective, a job interview must contain meaningful questions that get factual, job related answers. Research and experience shows the best method for formulating value-added questions is Behavioural Interviewing (Campbell, 2005). The interview process was in two major parts which are the interview arrangement and conducting the interview itself. An efficient interview process does not waste time and resources and so the researcher asked participants how quickly information on the arrangement for their interviews was communicated to them by management of B&M. Three (3) participants rated the interview arrangement as average saying arrangements of the interview were well communicated even though it could have been better. One (1) participant said the interview arrangements were good saying there was clear information on what to expect in the interview itself. One (1) other participant rated the interview arrangement as very good. The table below shows participant’s rating of the effectiveness of the recruitment arrangements. Table 4.4 Effectiveness of Recruitment Arrangements Effectiveness Number of Participants Percentage (%) Poor Average Good Very good - 3 1 1 - 60 20 20 Total 5 100 The effectiveness of the actual interview exercise was to be assessed by virtue of the fact that it succeeded in finding from the applicants if they really possessed what the organisation was looking out for in its employees. For this reason the researcher asked participants if the interview process they were taken through was detailed enough for the interviewers to base on it for decision making. The two student-workers revealed that they were taken through telephone interview whereas the three fulltime workers were taken through panel interviews. The operations manager however explained that the form of interview depended on the kind of vacancy available and the duty expected from the applicant. On the whole, four (4) of the applicants judged the interview process as very good whereas one (1) participant said the interview process was average. The next area the researcher used to measure effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment and selection process was the induction arrangements organised for applicants who were finally employed. Induction is an important aspect of the selection process. When an effective induction is conducted, it has a lasting impact on the worker, giving the employer as sense of belongingness in the company. The induction arrangement also ensure that new employees are clear on what their duty is, how they are go to about their duties and what is expected out of them. The researcher therefore asked participants if they found the induction arrangement to be effective, achieving its goal of inculcating them into the organization and giving them an orientation about the organisation and their new responsibilities. As many as four (4) out of the five participants rated the induction arrangement as very good whereas the other one (1) participant said it was average. Another important area for assessing the effectiveness of a recruitment and selection process is the kind of review checks given to new employees. The researcher therefore asked participants if they found the review system of B&M effectiveness to check their performance in the organisation. The two student-workers reviewed that for the past three months that they have been at B&M, their activities and services have never been reviewed. One fulltime worker said she has never been reviewed for the past three years that she has been at B&M. One said she has been reviewed but the process was not well monitored or properly done. The other one (1) however said that the review process was effective. Later, the operations manager reviewed that as part of the organisation’s policy, review is done once in every two years. Degree of Fairness in Recruitment and Selection The employer has the legal responsibility to ensure that no unlawful discrimination occurs in the recruitment and selection process on the grounds of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, and religion or belief (ACAS, 2011). Fairness of opportunity is a vital part of the recruitment and selection process. Areas that the researcher studied in the recruitment and selection process for fairness or otherwise were the areas of short listing of applicants, completion of contract, decision making and appointment, and appraisal system and its effectiveness at B&M. In the area of short listing of applicants, the researcher urged the applicants to frankly compare their skill and qualifications to the requirements that were requested in the advertisement and judge if they truly deserved to be shortlisted. Participants reviewed that there was consistency in the procedure and conditions for short listing applicants. This therefore means that the short listing process was fair since the criteria for short listing an applicant did not change according to a person’s sex, age, disability or race. Participants were also confident in the fairness of the short listing processing sighting they possessed all needed skill and qualifications advertised for. In all, four applicants judged the fairness in the short listing process as good whereas one participant judged the process as very good. On whether participants were treated fairly in the completion of contract as compared to what the organisation’s structures state, applicants’ opinions were varying. One interviewee said that there was so much information requested, delaying the process. Another interviewee said the process was carried out in a professional manner whereas three other interviewees said the process was carried out just as stated in the employee handbook. When participants were asked to rate the contract completion process, four (4) out of the five participants said the process was good whereas the other participant ranked the process as very good. Another sensitive area used to judge the fairness of recruitment and selection process is at the decision making and appointment stage. As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one: the decision making and appointment action can be trusted as fair if it involves more than one person. When there are more than one people making the decision, the decision become more credible than when it is taken singlehandedly by one person. So participants were asked whether the decision to appointment them was based on only one person or involved more than one person and whether they would judge the whole decision making and appointment action as poor, average, good or very good. Whereas two (2) participants rated the decision making as very good, three (3) participants rated it as good. Their decision was informed by the fact that the decision making was done by more than one person. Regarding the appointment action, one (1) participant ranked it as very good and four (4) participants rated it as good. The appraisal system is commonplace for many employers. It is a yearly and sometimes bi-yearly opportunity for your employer to provide a formal and meaningful report on whether you have met expected standards, and what areas require improvement (Landau , 2009). When conducted properly, appraisals serve a purpose of showing employees how to improve their performance, and setting goals for employees, (Mote, 2011). This means that an employee needs constant appraisal from his employers to know how well or badly he is performing at post. As a matter of fact, every employee has the right to know how well his employer is rating him before decision like dismissal or promotion are taken. Refusing to give an employee constant appraisal results in unfairness when all of a sudden the employee is handed a dismissal letter for poor performance. For this reason, the researcher sort in his interview to know the appraisal system that is used at B&M and how effective it is. The general impression was that even though it was in the company book for appraisal to be organized once a year, it was not done and if done, it was not effective. Reward Package as way of attracting and retaining employees The researcher was concerned with knowing the role the workers’ reward packages played in either motivating them to continue to work for B&M or otherwise. To achieve this, the researcher divided questions on reward packages and how their help to retain workers into five. These were current working condition, working conditions as against what was told in job interview, provision of resources needed for job delivery, rate of pay and promotional opportunities at B&M. On current conditions, participants were asked to rate their working conditions according to pay rate, working environment, the role and responsibility, holiday’s entitlements and complain procedure. All five part participants rated the working conditions at B&M as very good. The table below also shows what the current working conditions are as against what they were promised before getting the vacancy. Table 4.5 Working Conditions as against what was promised before Appointment Is the working condition the same? Number of Participants Percentage (%) Yes No 5 0 100 0 Total 5 100 Participants were also asked to comment on the provision of resources needed for job delivery at B&M. The researcher looked at areas of physical, financial, emotional and mental availability of resources as in the view of the researcher; these are important areas in motivating a worker. Armstrong (2001) defines motivation as being concerned with behaviour instigated by need and directed towards the goals that can satisfy those needs. The graph below depicts participants’ answers on the question of whether the company provides necessary resources that are needed for the job. Figure 4.1 Responses on whether the company provides necessary resources needed for the job Rate of pay in a company is a very important issue. Most of the time, the problem that employees have with employers is not that they are not well paid but that their pay is not well rated. This is to say that in some cases, two people with the same qualification and doing the same measure of work take different pays. To be clear on this, the researcher asked participants in the interview whether their rate of pay as compared with others within their rank was the same. Apart from the students who were not on the payroll of the company, the other workers were satisfied with the rate of pay. Whiles two (2) of said the pay rate of the company was good, one (1) said the rate of pay was very good. Workers were also asked about their promotional opportunities. An important way to get into the hearts and minds of employees at all levels of human resource management is to let them know that their efforts are being noticed and that there is a promotion to crown their effort. This obviously leads to employee retention (National Business Research Institute, NBRI, 2010). As a matter of fact, promotions are very good forms of motivation to retain employees. After employees have worked for some number of years, they feel the need to be promoted to a higher level. There was a unanimous response among the workers saying there were very little or limited promotional opportunities. According to the operations manager, this was so because of the size of the organization. Changes employees wish to see in the Company One area that most participants complained about in the interview when asked to suggest an area of change was with the appraisal system in the company. The student-workers suggested that the appraisal system be enhanced sighting that it helps to improve their learning. One worker suggested to the company to find a means of making the appraisal system consistent. Another worker compared the appraisal system at B&M to her formal place of work saying at her previous workplace, appraisal was done once every three months. She said frequent appraisal was used to monitor and motivate employees. One other worker believed in long term appraisal saying more emphasis should be put on continuous improvement and personal development. Finally, workers were asked to give recommendations to the management of B&M. Areas that workers touched on were: i. Special training for workers ii. Need for more funds into the company iii. Need for prompt appraisal iv. Increase in number of staff v. Setting up of an administration in the company vi. Making interview process more private 4.3 DISCUSSIONS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS The aim of the researcher for conducting this research is to review the current recruitment and selection process within B&M. Based on literature reviewed, the researcher wishes to discuss and interpret results of the data as presented in this chapter. Areas to be discussed and interpreted will include the staff strength of B&M, effectiveness of the recruitment method used at B&M, effectiveness of the recruitment and selection process, fairness in the recruitment and selection process, structures to attract and retain employees and administrative appropriateness at B&M. Staff Strength of B&M The data presented revealed that there are only five (5) workers at B&M, two (2) of whom are student-workers. This is a cause of worry looking at the intensity of work done at B&M. B&M renders multi-purpose service to the community by giving free advice on housing, money, debt and welfare benefits. These are responsibilities that require the services of trained professional such as lawyers, counsellors and other social workers. For the company to be run effectively also, it needs the services of administrators, managers and other corporate executives. The staff strength of B&M is therefore a source of worry. It is also a source of worry that upon the fact that there are not enough workers at B&M, staff training and refresher courses do not come promptly. Workers even complained that appraisal system at B&M is not effective. You need to create an educated workforce which keeps up with the main developments in their area of work. People love to learn new things and affording your employees an opportunity to learn tells them that you respect them and you care about their development (Murphy, P., 2010). There is therefore a lot of responsibility on the management to improve the human resource base of their workers. Effectiveness of Recruitment Method and Process The only method of advertising for vacancies at B&M is by the use of local community news paper. According to the operations manager, this was done to attract less number of applicants since the size of the organisation is very small and also to attract only local community people. It is a good idea to have local community members who understand the problems of the people they are to serve. There is however a question of credibility and effectiveness in the recruitment if mass media would not be used to attract more people with varying competencies to apply for the job. In a sense all marketing communication activity is a form of promotion, that is in one way or another is attempting to promote the interest of the brand, product range and/or company (Sands, 2010). It was therefore important for B&M to know that there was more to mass advertisement than just attracting jobseekers. On job description and specifications designed by the organization, all participants interviewed hailed it saying it was well structured and written. A good job description describes into details Title; Location; Responsible to; Responsible for; Main purpose of job; Key activities; Working conditions; Other duties. A good job specification on the other hand relates to human characteristics and attributes. Provide the basis for setting up the recruitment process - i.e. define the attributes - skills, knowledge and experience required (Armstrong (2003). Recruiters and personnel managers rely on clear and concise job descriptions to streamline the application and interviewing process and to judge work performance after a person has been hired (Encyclopaedia of Business, 2009). It is therefore worth mentioning that the nature of the job description and specification used by B&M made their recruitment effective in helping jobseeker know what exactly the organization was looking out for in the jobseekers. The interview arrangement put together by the organization also ensured effectiveness in the recruitment process even though it could be better. For three (3) out of five (5) interviewees to judge in the interview arrangement as average means there was more room for improvement. Normally, you can arrange the time and date of the interview to suit the interviewers. However, interviewees could have requirements that you have to take into consideration. These may include distance they need to travel, religious or health related considerations, such as someone who was fasting during Ramadan who may require an early interview time (University of Leeds, 2007). The interview itself was conducted in a way that can be concluded to be very effective. This is because three (3) out of five (5) interviewees confirmed that they were taken through panel interview, which means that chances of bias was reduced or totally catered for. ‘In this format, if the panellists to their jobs correctly, each candidate will be asked the same questions and the panel can evaluate without bias which person had the best answers’ (McGill, 2006). The average number quoted by the interviewees was two members on the panel. The student-workers however said they had a telephone interview, which is understood because they are not permanent workers. One way to evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment and selection process is by assessing the output of work of the employees who are appointed by the panel in the long. However, to assess the work output of such workers, constant performance review has to go on at the work place. At B&M however, there is no effective review of worker’s performance. This was revealed with the researcher’s interview with workers who said there has not been any effective review in the last three years that they have worked at B&M even though it is in the company’s books that review should be held every two years. ‘Employee performance reviews are essential to ensure that your company functions at its optimal level. For the well-being of employees, as well as the growth of the company, these reviews are invaluable tools to maintain a satisfying and enriching environment for all’ (Martin, 2009). In other for management of B&M to have a fair idea of the long term effectiveness of their recruitment and selection process, they must embark on regular employee review performance. Fairness in Recruitment and Selection Process at B&M The Laws of the United Kingdom places so much emphasis on ensuring fairness in job recruitment and selection as well as other employment related issues. ‘Questions relating to previous sickness absence count as questions that relate to health or disability’ (UK Employment Law, 2010). According to the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), indirect sex discrimination can occur where a requirement or condition is applied equally to men and women, but the proportion of one sex that can satisfy the condition is much smaller than the proportion of the other sex. On race discrimination, The Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) makes it unlawful to discriminate on grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origin. It is however commendable on the part of B&M that these laws were not flouted in its shortlist method. This is because interviewees reviewed that that there was consistency in the procedure and conditions for short listing applicants. The fact that there were more than one people on the interview and decision making panel is also evidence that there was fairness in the selection and appointment process. Having many people on the panel eliminates unfairness and bias because it makes it difficult for one person to dominate decision making with his ideas. Competition among business organisations for recruiting the best potential has increased focus on innovation, and management decision making and the selectors aim to recruit only the best candidates who would suit the corporate culture, ethics and climate specific to the organisation (Terpstra, 1994). It is for such importance of the decision making process that it is advisable not to leave it in the hands of only one person. Attracting and Retaining Employees by the use of Reward and Motivation To attract and retain employees, it is important to have a very good and legal pay system. A recent Towers Perrin study of roughly 86,000 employees in 16 countries found 58 percent of employees actively looking to change jobs or open to leaving if a good opportunity emerged. Together, these two studies suggest that when the supply of talent is low, and a majority of employees (including stars) are open to leaving, retention of stars is even more important (Trevor, 2006). It is for the sake of a reason like this that employees at B&M are well rewarded to make them stay in the organization. All three (3) fulltime workers of B&M were satisfied with their pay and pay rate. Two (2) employees said the pay was good whereas one (1) said it was very good. This is a very good sign for retaining them as employees in the company. Non-monetary motivation such as promotional opportunities is one of B&M’s major shortfalls. There is the process or cognitive theory which examines the psychological processes involved in motivation (Armstrong, 2001). This psychological process of motivation states that not all people need money as motivation. This means that there should be other non-monetary avenues of motivation in place at the workplace. The survey by the researcher reviewed that there was no promotional opportunities for workers of B&M. This was blamed on the size of the company, which is very small but this also calls for stringent structures to be put in place to ensure growth of the company to put it in a position to have higher positions to be taken by deserving employees. Administrative Appropriateness at B&M The researcher’s interview with both fulltime employees and student-workers reviewed that the company had a very poor appraisal system which is administratively inappropriate. An appraisal system serves as a very good platform for workers to assess themselves and notice areas for improvement in their service delivery. An effective appraisal system prepares workers for bigger task in the future and makes them make the most out of their abilities. ‘The appraisal system is commonplace for many employers. It is a yearly and sometimes bi-yearly opportunity for your employer to provide a formal and meaningful report on whether you have met expected standards, and what areas require improvement’ (Landau , 2009). Management of B&M must therefore put structures in place to ensure that appraisal becomes part of the routine activities at B&M. It is however highly commendable of the administration of B&M to have adopted the use of panel interview in selecting employees even though the size of the company is very small. This practice is administratively appropriate and it eradicates bias and unfairness in recruitment and selection process. The panel interview also ensures efficiency in the interview process, eradicating the wastage of time. With panel interview, the final placement is also more credible. The management of B&M therefore encouraged with this act. REFERENCE LIST “Employee Surveys” National Business Research Institute, NBRI, 2010 [Accessed, 20 January, 2011] < http://www.nbrii.com/Employee_Surveys/> Armstrong, M. (2003) A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice 8th Edition London :Kogan Page Chapters 23 ,24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 Campbell, G. 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