Recruitment and Selection Procedure - Research Paper Example

Recruitment and selection procedure Table of Contents Background – human resource planning 2. Phases in human resource planning 13. Information required for human resource planning 1 4. Recruitment and selection strategy – comparative analysis 2 5. Evaluation of interview as a selection technique 5 6. Employee rights and procedures on exit 6 7. Conclusion and recommendation 7 References 9 Appendices 11 1. Background – human resource planning There has been a shift in the human resource planning and it now involves a strategic approach to human resource management. Human resource planning traditionally focused on the short term and was largely dictated by line management concerns (Jackson & Schuler, 1990). However, due to environmental instability, demographic shifts and changes in technology, there have been changes in the need and nature of human resource in an organization. There is increased interaction between the line managers and planners now. Today organizations are developing both long-term and short term solutions to address the human resource concerns. 2. Phases in human resource planning There can be three different time horizons according to Jackson and Schuler (1990) for which human resource planning can take place – short-term (up to one year), intermediate term (one to three years) and long-term (more than three years). Since it is a growing trend by UK based companies to employ Indian executives for their overseas branches, the planning suggested here is on a long-term basis. Typically there are four phases of human resource planning – collection of data which helps to forecast the human resource demand, the human resource objectives have then to be established, then comes the designing and implementation phase where the organization achieves the human resource objectives (which means staffing, appraising, compensating and training) and finally these programs will have to be monitored and evaluated (Appendix A). 3. Information required for human resource planning For such planning an assessment of the macro environment is necessary both in India and the UK. In addition, the skill requirement has to be assessed as technological change is an ongoing process (MDR, 1997). The specific skill requirement, the unskilled and semi-skill have to be assessed in addition to the qualification of the present employees. The local employment market and the competition has to be assessed which would help in deciding at what stages it would be possible to get skilled people. The micro environment of the industry will give information about employee turnover, the prevalent salary, other terms of employment including promotions and transfers. 4. Recruitment and selection strategy – comparative analysis In today’s world compensation packages do not matter and what matters is to have a talent powered organization consisting of highly motivated, skilled and loyal employees (Gordon, 2002). The recruitment activity requires making employment oppurtunities known to qualified individuals in a manner that proper job specifications are communicated. The required employee qualifications also need to be mentioned so that there are no unwanted applications to browse through. Description of the organization along with corporate objectives, the compensation benefits and employment tenure has to be informed as well (MDR, 1997). Recruitment can be through internal search or external search and normally organizations employ a mix of both the searches. Internal search can be through job portals or announcing through notice boards or circulars. External search can be through advertisements employment agencies, employee referrals (Hariyani, 2008). The process of recruitment is depicted diagrammatically in Appendix B. Both IBM & British Airways (BA) believe in diversity of workforce and in providing equal oppurtunity regardless of class, gender, race and age. IBM also believes in promoting women and also re-employing the older staff. BA feels equal oppurtunity promotes mutual respect and value for each other. In addition it helps them to attract and retain the most talented people (Company website). Both engage in external search through the internet, through outsourcing and employing the services of HR consultants. Internet today has become a cost effective and high quality recruitment tool and is a key component of the recruitment strategy. Online recruitment (OR) has a shorter recruitment cycle and can get a wider audience. This attracts better quality of responses and the company also has an image of being up-to-date (Galanaki, 2002). OR can also attract the passive job seeker who may not be currently looking for a job or job change. IBM uses OR because of ease of communication, speed and ease of process, continuous product innovation such as Webcast and it is cost effective for them because they have Pan European presence (Monster, 2009). OR does not replace other forms of recruitment; it compliments and supplements them. IBM receives 70% of its application online or via email. OR can reduce the time spent on recruitment and selection process by as much as 25 percent (Kumar, 2003). BA too makes the initial selection via the online application form (Company website). Recruitment and Selection has become one of the most outsourced functions (Ordanini & Silvestri, 2008) and IBM too engages in it. It is not possible to run the recruitment process single-handedly while developing the core business (Mills, 2002). IBM recruits through suppliers like Delphi’s Span Job Agency. This agency locates and trains the recruits and employs them on fixed-term contract (Kavanagh, 1998). BA too uses online recruitment services and solutions from StepStone’s i-Grasp Solutions. While they first implement the recruitment of the external candidates, in the next phase they look at internal candidates and staff moves. The candidate experience has become richer and faster. Selection is also easy because now BA receives only targeted application forms (StepStone, n.d.). Another innovative recruitment program that IBM follows is the employee referral program as it has been found to the most effective and efficient way to hire new people (Daw, 2008). In fact this program has been found to be 20% more effective than job portals. The employees receive rewards for referring employees and this still works our cheaper than paying the head hunters while attracting quality staff. BA has an online capability assessment for graduate recruitment and a key element on the system is an online core capability (or competency) assessment questionnaire (POW, 2009). The capability assessment questionnaire is a part of the ten stage application process where information is collected on different areas like the educational background and employment history. BA uses the services of HR consultants to develop the questionnaire, collect data and analyze the data gathered. Thus both the companies have the objective of a diverse workforce to derive the maximum mileage. Job portal, website and email receipt of CV and internet advertising are the main areas where companies advertise. Both BA and IBM invite applications online through their website and in addition both also use the services of an e-recruiter. They recognize that it is not possible to handle the recruitment and selection process in addition to core functions. Online recruitment process enriches the candidate experience and reduces the recruitment cycle time. BA uses HR consultants for graduate recruitment while IBM has the employees’ referral program. Both the strategies are industry specific and hence there can be no set of recruitment techniques that every organization can employ. At the same time, there is a shift from the traditional form of recruitment. 5. Evaluation of interview as a selection technique Selection decision can result in four possible outcomes as detailed in Appendix C. Hence the method of selection has to be suitable to the organization and the environment. The selection process involves screening of the applications received followed by tests of various types – psychometric tests, aptitude tests, intelligence tests, interest tests, personality tests and interviews. The application forms at both the companies require personal information such as educational qualifications, work experience, salary, personality items and reference checks. This is followed by interviews and interviews are the most popular selection method in most countries and in most organizations. Tests are necessary to eliminate candidates when the number of applications is high (Barclay, 1999). Unionized organization use application form as a method of selection but is not a popular method in recent times (Heraty & Morley, 1998). Many use references as a tool for selection but this is only once the candidate has been basically found to be fit for the job applied for. Aptitude tests are conduced but these precede the interviews. Based on the outcome of the aptitude tests the candidates are called for interviews. Hence aptitude tests help in short listing the applicants. Ultimately interviews are the most popular method of selection by most organizations. Interviews can be structured or unstructured, and again structured interview can be behavioural or functional. Structured interviews have predicting validity. Questions relevant to the job are asked to all the candidates using the same systematic scoring procedures (Barclay, 1999). In structured interviews the questions are more job-related and turn the attention of the interviewer away from irrelevant details like race and sex. Behavioural interviewing focuses on what they have accomplished or failed to accomplish. It also tells the interviewer how the candidate looks at the failure. Structured interviews are less complex and cost effective compared to other approaches of selection. Psychometric tests have been challenged as they lead to biases and unfair discrimination giving rise to ethical concerns. Such tests have to be carried out by HR specialists or consultants and hence become difficult for line managers to accept the decisions. Interviews can be structured by line managers themselves. Besides, psychometric tests do not directly relate to competencies related to the job, which is possible through structured interviews. However, structured interviews should not become rigid and the interviewer should not be merely a tool to gather information. It has to have flexibility and have two-way communication. Behavioural interviewing is more flexible than situational interviewing, the latter being more like an oral test administered on the candidate. 6. Employee rights and procedures on exit Whether an employee leaves the organization voluntarily or involuntarily, exit interviews are an oppurtunity for both the employer and the employee to reflect on the company; strategy, culture and people operating system (Dana, 2004). It helps to minimize the legal difficulties following employee’s exit and is a learning process for the organization. IBM ensures that departing employees have completed Human Resource files with Non Disclosure Agreements, Non Competition Agreements (where applicable), Invention and Assignment Agreements and various other agreements, acknowledgements and forms. IBM knows how to mine the data in the worker’s heads before they walk out of the door (Kaihla, 2004). For exit interviews they do not use the HR department but the IT and Knowledge Management experts to ensure that intellectual property are retained within the company. It is an open-ended conversation where the employee feels comfortable to voice his opinions. IBM usually follows the exit compensation based on the joining agreement and abides by it. BA too has well structured exit interviews and strictly follows the exit policy as per the UK government rules. Redundancy compensation package at IBM include 2 week’s pay per year of service but with pay in lieu of notice and pay in lieu of contractual benefits deducted (Skyte, 2002). The severance pay at BA is very attractive especially in case of voluntary redundancy. This depends on case-to-case basis depending on their salaries (Logan, 2009). 7. Conclusion and recommendation There is no one-size-fit-all policy as far as human resource planning is concerned. The recruitment and selection procedure that the Bombay Company should follow should take into account the latest technology. Announcement for the jobs with complete details of the profile, the talent requirement and the detail of the company should be clearly described in all advertisements. For India, advertisement through daily newspaper would be necessary in addition to internet advertising and advertising at the job portals like Monster.com and naukri.com. Online recruitment and receiving applications should be strictly followed as this ensures quality applications thereby saving time and money on processing the applications. An online aptitude test should be conducted before they are called for interview. This test would set the background for the interview. The interviews should be flexible to allow the candidate to express his achievements and failures. Selection should be based on the interviews which should be conducted by a panel of at least three people comprising of the HR and the technical staff. No biases or discrimination should be employed in the final selection process and it should be transparent. The candidates should be clearly informed of their rights during the employment, the agreements to be signed at the time of joining and the exit procedures. They should also be informed that involuntary redundancy is likely and in the event that this takes place they would be compensated only if they have worked for more than two years. Since they would be employed in UK, they would be compensated as per the UK government policies but they would also have to pay the taxes as per UK laws. Reference: Barclay, JM 1999, Employee selection: a question of structure, Personnel Review, vol. 28, no. 1/2, pp. 134-151. British Airways, company website: Equality and Diversity, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.britishairwaysjobs.com/baweb1/?newms=info219 Dana, D 2004, Ask Dr. Dana, The Advantage Newsletter, JP Morgan Partner, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.thomaszweifel.com/downloads/AdvantageNewsletterVol6_v36.pdf Daw, J 2008, Recruitment: Online Employee Referral Program (Job network) Improve Recruiting Return of Investment, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/29610 Galanaki, E 2002, The decision to recruit online: a descriptive study, Career Development International, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 243-251 Heraty, N & Morley, 1998, In search of good fit: policy and practice in recruitment and selection in Ireland, Journal of Management Development, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 662-685. Jackson, SE & Schuler, RS 1990, Challenges for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~sjacksox/PDF/HRPlanning.pdf Kaihla, P 2004, Acing the exit interview, Business 2.0, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.knowledgeharvesting.com/documents/WhatWorks.pdf Kavanagh, J 1998, IBM and Delphi aim to bridge skills gap, (Company Business and Marketing). Computer Weekly (Sept 24, 1998): p.70(1). (265 words) From Business & Management Journals. Gale. Ashridge Business School - Custom. Kumar, S 2003, Managing Human Capital Supply Chain in the Internet Era’, Industrial Management and Data Systems, vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 227-237 Logan, G 2009, British Airways calls for 100 pilots to volunteer for redundancy, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/05/11/50618/british-airways-calls-for-100-pilots-to-volunteer-for.html MDR, 1997, Fifteen steps to a complete human resource program, vol. 10, no. 1/2/3, pp. 37-39 Mills, E 2002, Virtual Recruitment, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v20/n8/pdf/nbt0802-853.pdf Monster, 2009, Monster Case Studies, IBM, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www2.monster.ie/casestudy/ibm/ Ordanini, A & Silvestri, G 2008, Recruitment and selection services: Efficiency and competitive reasons in the outsourcing of HR practices, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 372–391 POW, 2009, British Airways - Developing an on-line capability assessment for graduate recruitment, People and Organizations@Work, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.pow-bps.com/case-studies/british-airways$.cfm Skyte, P 2002, SECURING YOUR FUTURE?, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://74.125.153.132/custom?q=cache:TdW6GOW_nd8J:www.amicus-itpa.org/ibm/IBMNEWS0702.doc+selection+criteria+for+redundancy+IBM&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in&client=pub-3796354395625809 Staffing, n.d., Staffing-- HRM Process, Recruitment and Selection, Lesson 14, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.rocw.raifoundation.org/management/bba/essentialsofmanagement/lecture-notes/lecture-14.pdf StepStone, n.d., Case Study - British Airways, retrieved online 30 May 2009 from http://www.stepstonesolutions.com/_pdf/Case_Studies/StepStone_Case_Study_British_Airways.pdf Appendix A Phases for Human Resource Planning on a long-term basis Source: Jackson & Schuler, 1990 Appendix B Source: Staffing, (n.d.). Appendix C Selection Decision Source: Staffing, (n.d.). Read More