Human Resource Management: Selection and Recruitment Process - Assignment Example

 Selection and Recruitment Process: Recruitment is the process which enables an organization to employ the right candidate suitable to fulfill the needs of the organization after scrutinizing application forms curriculum vitae and conducting interviews. According to Taylor (2008), recruitment is the crucial step which involves soliciting application from possible employees. The process is followed by selection which consists of a series of different processes in choosing the right candidate to fill the vacancy (Taylor, 2008). Recruitment Process: The recruitment process starts right after devising the right job analysis which highlights the nature of the job, main tasks and responsibilities needed to be carried out by the potential employee (Pearn and Kandola, 1993). Job analysis gives a broader vision to the recruiter that what he needs to seek in a potential candidate and what are the demands required according to the nature of the job. It can be further highlighted by devising either a job description or person specification. Job description elaborates the tasks and responsibilities that constitute the job (Bratton and Gold, 2012; p. 224). Job description aids the recruitment agencies and the potential candidates in getting the right idea that what are the requirements an organization is seeking in a potential candidate. A typical job description consists of different elements such as job title, the department, whom should one report to, hierarchal chain, purpose and objectives of a job, requirements of a job (travelling or working outside) and responsibilities associated with the job. However, person specification revolves around the criteria necessary for the selection of a particular candidate (CIPD, 2012) which according to Taylor (2008) are the presence of necessary skills, experience, education and qualification along with the presence of necessary behavioral attributes. Critical Analysis of Person Specification in light of Academic Framework: The current Person Specification as devised by our group encompasses the same components as highlighted by Taylor. However, the current person specification lacks in explaining the specific skills essential to fulfill the job requirements are vague in their understanding. The essential and desirable components are almost the same and they should be described more coherently and specifically to help the candidate in understanding the requirements more appropriately. The term “additional requirements” should be replaced with “required behavioral characteristics” as described by Taylor (2008). The person specification should explore that what are the basic personality and physical requirements are needed by the organization from a potential candidate. It should also explore that how much of the previous experience is required by the organization in the field of event management specifically, in organizing what types of events, in a detailed manner. It will help the candidate to explain his competencies in an efficient manner which will further help the organization to understand the attitude of the candidate in a better way. The core competencies in a candidate should elaborate his communication skills, people management attitude, whether if he/she is suitable to work in a team, customer services, results and problem solving attitude (CIPD L and D Report, 2007). Critical Analysis of Interview Structure: Interview plays a critical role in the recruitment and selection process. Interview enables the employer and the prospective employee to learn more about each other. It enables the employers to confirm the information disclosed by the candidate on the application form as well as to ask questions and to evaluate the personality of a candidate, his character, oral skills and the capability to tackle the tough situations. Interview helps the employers to develop a better understanding about the prospective candidate which is impossible to gain by just reading the application or the curriculum vitae. The current interview structure developed by our group fails to define the type of the interview being conducted such as if it would be a structured interview, unstructured, formal or an informal interview keeping in mind the nature of the job and what kind of questions you have planned to ask the candidate; either situational questions or behavioral questions (Ryan et. Al, 1999; Campion et al., 1997). According to Taylor (2008), interview is divided into two categories; panel and individual (these are also known as formal and informal interview, respectively). In the current outline for the interview structure, all the steps involved are inter-linked with the person specification (Rynes et al., 2002) but these questions should start with informal biographical information to make the candidate more comfortable with his environment. The second step is to ask the candidate with some situational questions that would revolve around on how a candidate can make the most of his skills and past experience in tackling a particular situation under so-and-so circumstances (Conway and Huffcutt, 1997). By asking situational questions, employer gets a better idea of a candidate’s competency, skills and knowledge (Latham et al., 1980). Also, the second part of the interview which is the main part can also revolve around behavioral questions as some of the researchers think that such type of questions gives a better idea and predictability of future job performance by the candidate. However, the main part of the interview as described in the interview structure gives an unnecessary extension of the biographical questions. The main part of the interview structure should focus more on questions that would help the employer in knowing the core competency and ability of the candidate. It is not necessary for an employer to ask just one type of the questions (situational or behavioral) (Taylor and Small, 2002). An interview can base on different questions that may help the employer to develop a better understanding regarding the applicant and at the same, it also benefits the applicant in answering the questions to best of his knowledge. In the end of the interview, the candidate may be given a chance to ask any question from the employer to clear anything he would want to know related to organization, the job or the responsibilities associated with it. Also, it is imperative for the employer to clearly communicate the dates for the announcement of the results. Critical Analysis of the Selection Method: Face-to-face interview plays a key role in understanding and analyzing the personality and character of the candidate which is impossible to know over the phone. Face-to-face interviews are cost effective as compare to telephone interviews. However, we cannot neglect the importance of telephonic interview to conduct a formal interview over the phone when the candidate is located at far distant, lives out of state or for initial screening. Looking at the cons of the face-to-face interviews, due to short or limited duration of the interview, it is difficult for the employer to analyze the candidate in a more detailed manner. It does help in reducing the load of interview from the employer. Telephone interview is only beneficial when the employer is seeking ways to select the most appropriate candidate from a pool of different candidates on the basis of skills and information. Telephone interviews enable the employer to save his time and money but it is only viable in initial stages of the selection process to eliminate the unqualified candidates (UCDavis Human Resources, 2009). Assessment center allows group of people to be evaluated in one sitting which helps the employer to saves his time and money. The scores play a key role in determining the top candidates suitable for the later processes. It helps in direct filtration of the qualified candidates from the unqualified ones (Bohlander and Snell, 2009). Hence, it may also help in the selection process. In tray exercise as mentioned in the report as an inappropriate process can be regarded as the suitable process may help the employer because they are an accurate simulation of real life demands on the job and also, enables the employer to analyze and assess the predictability of job performance in the future by the candidate. Psychometric testing may also help the employer to gain a better understanding about the candidate. The results provide an in-depth analysis of the candidate. However, psychometric testing may work different for different job positions (Kaplan and Saccuzzo, 2010). Not all the jobs require psychometric testing of the candidates. An employer does not need to employ any other method for the selection process as it may increase the overall cost and time of the organization. In the selection of this job, the organization does not require any further process as the selection of the candidate can be made on the basis of: 1- Telephonic interviews for initial screening 2- Face-to-face interview 3- Assessment centre 4- In tray exercise 5- Psychometric testing 6- Final interview to evaluate the possible best candidate for the final selection. Conclusion: Recruitment and selection is a process that involves in-depth analysis and assessment of the various steps involved to select the best candidate suitable for the job. The entire procedure includes different steps and processes which start from the point of advertising the employment opportunity by using different mediums such as own website, newspapers, social media networks or any other medium. The process also involves devising the right job description, job analysis, person specification, formulating the application forms and analyzing the curriculum vitae. The process is followed by initial screening of the candidate which could be done by conducting telephone interviews, calling the candidates for face-to-face interviews, evaluating the candidates on the basis of scores, psychometric testing and finally, announcing the right candidate. Interview plays a critical role in the recruitment and selection process which evaluates a candidate on the basis of his education and qualification, skills and experience, personality and the behavior of a person. Interviews help the employer to judge the candidate in a better way by analyzing his presentation and communication skills which is impossible to evaluate on the basis of curriculum vitae. Hence, it is imperative for an employer to focus on conducting the right strategy needed for the selecting the right candidate to save the time and money of the organization. List of References: Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2012). Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. 5th edition, Palgrave Macmillan. Bohlander, G. and Snell, S. (2009). Managing Human Resources. Cengage Learning. p. 204 Conway, J. M., and Huffcutt, A. I. (1997). Effects of reliability, constructs, and job on structured interview validity. Paper presented at the 12th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, St Louis, MO. Campion, M. A., Palmer, D. K., and Campion J. E. (1997). A review of structure in the selection interview. Personnel Psychology, 50, 655–702. Pearn, M. and Kandola, R.S. (1993). Job Analysis: A Manager’s Guide. 2nd edition, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development Kaplan, R.M., and Saccuzzo, D.P. (2010). Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications, and Issues. (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Latham, G. P., Saari, L. M., Pursell, E. D., and Campion, M. A. (1980). The situational interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 422–427. Rynes, S.L., Brown, K.G. and Colbert. E. A. (2002). Seven Common Misconceptions about Human Resources Practices: Research findings versus practitioner beliefs. Academy of Management Executive, vol. 16, (3), p.92-103. Ryan, A., McFarland, L., Baron, H., and Page, R. (1999). An international look at selection practices: Nation and culture as explanations for variability in practice. Personnel Psychology, 52(2), 359–391 Taylor, S. (2008) People Resourcing, 4th edition, London, CIPD. Taylor, P. J. and Small, B. (2002). Asking applicants what they would do versus what they did do: A meta-analytic comparison of situational and past behavior employment interview questions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 277–294. UCDavis Human Resources. (2009). Telephone Pre-screening Interview. [Available online] http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/supervisor/recruitments/selection-process/phone accessed on 8th December, 2012 Read More