Strategies in the Recruitment Process - Article Example

1. Recruitment can be loosely defined as a process used by companies that involves searching for and selecting qualified candi s from various applicants in order to select the most appropriate person to fill its job needs (Pfeffer 1989). Thus, recruitment efforts seek to fulfill the needs of both the applicant as well as those of the organisation. From this assertion, Pfeffer (1989) also concurs that companies which are serious about making profit through people ought to “expend the effort needed to ensure that they recruit the right people in the first place.” S.G. Cowen basically employees three strategies in the recruitment process namely; the core-schools strategy, Cowen-on campus and the Super Saturday. The core schools strategy used by S.G. Cowen involves a process of identifying and recruiting associates from the identified core business schools where it would make company presentations as well as participate in the on-campus recruiting programs. This strategy would allow the organisation to be in direct contact with potential recruits and it would have ample time and opportunity to present all the information about the company in a positive image that would likely to appeal as well as attract associates who can later on be absorbed for internship or graduate attaches. This strategy has its own advantages such as creating a favorable environment that would allow the associates to familiarize with the requirements as well as the dictates of the organisation. By virtue of being business schools, the core schools would allow S.G. Cowen to identify the potential associates with great talent and skill in business related field at lower levels and can be groomed and nurtured in such a way that they would be able to quickly acclimatize to the working environment as well as the demands of the positions they would be specializing in. Basically, this strategy is primarily concerned with identifying exceptional talent from different core business schools then absorb the associates in the system in order for them to familiarize with the requirements of the company at an early age. Another recruiting process namely Cowen on-campus involved an open schedule whereby the students would sign up based on their interest as well as the closed schedule where selection would be done on the basis of using previously selected resumes. This would allow the bankers to be able to select quality candidates from different categories that would then be streamlined to be able to qualify for Super Saturday where the final interviews as well as decisions would be made. This strategy allows the organisation to select candidates from a large pool of applicants and one main advantage of this strategy is that there would be a large number of applicants where it would be possible to carefully select the best from the list of resumes available. Super Saturday is the ultimate stage in the recruiting process where the shortlisted candidates from various core schools as well as no core schools are expected to attend an interview. These candidates are interviewed separately and this Super Saturday occasion would also serve as the opportunity to make decisions with regards to recruiting the best candidates using the results of the interviews. In some cases, there would be ready consensus about the quality of other candidates and their capability whilst there would also likely to be some disagreements on the quality of other candidates. Under such circumstances, the Super Saturday is often regarded as the supreme decision making body where the final decisions would be made after deliberations as well as consultations among the panel of interviewers on the best candidates to recruit. This opportunity would allow the interviewers to iron out their differences and ultimately compromise in certain areas. Indeed, deciding at which business schools to recruit proved to be a controversial strategy as a result of certain factors. They used to target especially the top ten schools in selecting their candidates. Apparently Rae discovered that they were also getting middle of the class at the top schools therefore decided to venture into the next 15 schools in the top 25. Focusing on top schools alone, though prestigious is suicidal in the sense that it is not guaranteed that the best candidates would be obtained from these but could also be obtained from the other equally lower business schools. The other controversy surrounding the selection of business schools was that good reputation alone of some of the schools did not translate into best candidates every time. There was need for careful selection of the best associates from various business schools regardless of the perceptions held by the people about some of the schools. Rae’s strategy was wise in the sense that it widened the net to attract the best suitable candidates from a wide range of choices. Usually the best brains are not always concentrated at the best schools hence the need to be wide minded and venture into other areas that are often looked down upon. To a greater extent, it would be sensible for S.G. Cowen to recruit at undergraduate level in such areas as law and technology. Just like any other intern programs that are meant to equip the trainees with the working environment of an organisation, there is also need for them to have all the knowledge about the organisation. Employees who have first hand information about an organisation coupled with their experience are likely to be more productive than employees recruited on the basis of their excellence in qualifications. The new information and communication technology aided by the advent of the internet has brought about sweeping changes in the way organisations conduct business during the contemporary period. It would be very advantageous therefore to recruit at undergraduate levels so that these recruits will be accustomed to the demands as well as changes that may take place in the market that would also affect the operations of the company. Grooming the employees technologically at a lower level would enhance their capacity as well as their skills rather that the company relying on outsourcing staff to deal with the demands of the changes brought about by new technology. “In most job markets, the employer is not sure of the productive capabilities of an individual at the time he hires him. Nor will the information necessarily become available to the employer after hiring,” Michael Spence (1973). In most cases, the job may require some time to learn and often specific training is required. In is against this background that the core school strategy still make sense in the employer’s market during the contemporary period. In this regard, training would be an ongoing process which would enable the associates to gain first hand information about the organisation while undergoing the process of internship. This would also allow the associate to familiarize with the environment of the organisation which would be a perfect advantage in solving problems that may arise in the future since he would be endowed with the relevant knowledge about the operations of the organisation. Cowen’s presence on-campus provided a fertile hunting ground for the best recruits with the best attributes that can be assimilated into the company’s system as associates. The major strength of the strategy is that it targets a large number of potential recruits from a wide range of schools which would give high chances of selecting the best candidates from the pool of available applicants. This would be based on careful consideration of the qualities of each individual in comparison to other candidates available. However, the major shortcoming of this strategy is that there would be a tendency of subjective judgments on the selection of candidates which may undermine the potential of other capable and deserving applicants. Various factors ought to be taken into consideration when choosing candidates and this is not only limited to academic prowess. The division of labour between senior bankers and associates is effective to a certain extent where they would apply their skills and knowledge basing on their experience as captains of the industry. The bankers have hands on experience on the operations of the organisation which would give them credibility in leading the associates in their practice during in house training they would be receiving. Super Saturday provided the climax of the recruitment process and the main objective of this strategy is to thoroughly screen the candidates from the final list thought to be the best. Here, the aim would be to try to identify those candidates with talent and capability to be nurtured into useful assets to the company. However, there are likely chances of tension arising where there may be disagreements among the interviewers over certain aspects. The evaluation process of candidates is often characterized by subjective decisions of an individual that are motivated by personal feelings and ideas which may not be a reflection of objectiveness. Issues such as culture, personality as well as traits may not be universally agreed among different individuals which may be a source of tension among the decision makers. This process is particularly concerned with collecting valuable information such as culture, qualifications, skills, experience as well as notable achievements in the candidates’ previous jobs. To a greater extent, the firm got sufficient level of detail on their candidates since this was the opportunity where the interviewers would get in touch directly with the prospective candidates on a face to face basis where the candidates would spell out their qualities personally. In some cases, resumes may be regarded as effective sources of gathering information about the potential candidates but the interviewing process would provide an in-depth assessment of an individual on a personal level. It is at this stage that the individual would be given an opportunity to defend his bid and is often seen as a reliable way of screening candidates (Campion et al 1997). 2. The key decision points used by S.G. Cowen in making hiring decisions are specially based on the selection criteria of identifying the best talent on the basis of top of the class where the candidates with a good record of excelling in their studies at core as well as non core schools are given priority. However, the process mainly comprises of initial data gathering which is done through identification of quality candidates basing on general information about those particular people. This process is regarded as the preliminary stage which is mainly characterized by assessing the candidates at face value depending on their interest pertaining to the demands of the job. This stage is not an end in itself but rather a beginning of the often complex process of selecting rightful candidates to fill in different vacancies in an organisation. Interviews are conducted at various stages as a way of screening the candidates from a lower level. Candidates would have an opportunity to meet the senior bankers who are on a drive to identify talent especially at core schools. Interviews often play a pivotal role in the selection process of potential candidates where they are given the opportunity to express their skills as well as knowledge about specific job tasks to the potential employers. This method is very effective in gathering information about a candidate at primary stage which is first hand information in most cases. Other methods of alternative data sources include contacting references mentioned by the applicant on his or her resume. References provide useful information about the applicant, his or her roles played at previous jobs and attributes of the applicant where applicable in some instances. A reference is very important for the prospective employer to investigate into the candidate’s background as part of the initial screening process and is considered by many as one of the most useful screening tools available (Gatewood and Field 1998 cited in Harshman & Chachere 2000). However, some of the major constraints likely to be encountered in the process of gathering information about an applicant using references include; a tendency of giving negative false referral information, giving positive false referral information or a situation where the references are inadequate (Verkerke 1998 cited in Harshman & Chachere 2000). Apart from relying on information collected from the resume of an applicant, interviews as well as the use of references are two equally more important sources of information about an applicant. Basically, the best way to conduct an employment interview ought to be structured in a way that would ensure or promote a job analysis so as to try and ascertain if the applicant has basic knowledge about the job he would be applying for. Basing the questions on a job analysis would provide a solid foundation upon which validity may be enhanced where the interview does not include irrelevant material or otherwise exclude relevant material (Campion et al 1997). Structured interviews are advantageous in that they minimize bias by avoiding irrelevant stuff while at the same time trying to remain focused on issues related to the job. This would also encourage the interviewee to remain focused on pertinent issues related to the job. Given that I am a senior banker at S.G. Cowen, I would first start by asking the applicant to briefly describe him/herself. This would further probe the applicant to say out what he knows professionally and ultimately about what he knows about the job he has applied for. One very important question which I would ask pertains to the aspect of capability of the applicant in how best he thinks he can improve the operations of the organisation. This question would allow the applicant to spell out if he is endowed with other exceptional skills or a wealth of knowledge that can be adopted to improve the operations of the organisation. Another question I would the applicant would be related to his or her problem solving skills. In any kind of job, there are likely unprecedented chances that problems would arise at any given point hence the need for any individual to at least possess some of the skills required in solving problems. Last but not least, I would inquire if the applicant is flexible to work in a culturally diverse environment. The concept of globalization has opened the world markets where employees can be posted to work in different corners of the world where they ought to be able to adapt to new changes in the environment. The use of unstructured interviews has legal consequences and the dangers include a scenario where both the interviewee and interviewer may end up discussing confidential information which ought to be kept under wrappers at all costs. Confidential information should not be divulged and lawsuits may be filed in the event that such information has been exposed which is likely to undermine operations of the affected organisation. The bankers say that ‘fit’ is their most important criteria for selection but this may be contestable since there are various issues that ought to be taken into consideration. According to their own definition, ‘fit’ would refer to those characters of a candidate that are peculiar to the role expectations they would have about a candidate which may be subjective in certain circumstances. Baron and Kreps (1999) posit to the effect that there are various factors that are considered when determining the right choice of a candidate. However, the dangers of determining a fit are that it is often an issue related to subjective decisions of an individual. The qualities may vary from individual to individual which may not a reliable way of deciding a ‘fit’. It must be noted that hiring for ‘fit’ is not often recommendable and the local team is more suitable for ‘fit’ for different reasons. Locally groomed applicants are likely to perform better compared to those hired since they would have first hand information about the organisation and the requirements of the job. Evaluators should be concerned especially about general aspects of the cultural values of the candidates and leave family matters to individuals as it would be tantamount to invasion of privacy. Every individual has a right to enjoy freedom as well as privacy and this includes personal matters such as family issues. Indeed, knowing the candidate’s culture is important since it would allow the evaluators to gauge if the candidate is capable of mixing with other people from different cultural backgrounds. Organisations are driven by human resources hence the need to identify some of the characters that would make interaction easier and ultimately minimizes the chances of conflict among the workers. In conclusion, it can be noted that recruitment is a basic tenet of the operations of all organisations which require careful selection of candidates with exceptional qualities that can lead to an improvement in the operations of the firm. Whilst there are other strategies used by potential employers to select employees, interviewing technique is the most popular one and often seen as a reliable source of obtaining information about an individual candidate. References Baron J., Kreps D., “Consistent Human Resources Practices,” California Management Review ((Spring 199) vol. 41. Vol 3.) Reprinted from Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers (New York: John Willey and Sons ((1999) p 346- 51 Campion M.A., Palmer D.K. & Campion J.E, “A Review of Structure in the Selection Interview,” Personnel Psychology (1997) p 690 Ellen Harshman Denis R. Chachere, “Employee References: Between the Legal Devil and The Ethical Deep Blue Sea,” Journal of Business Ethics (vol 23 (2000) p29-39. Hirschman Carolyn, “Playing the High Stakes in Hiring Game” HR Magazine,((March 1998) vol. 43. No. 4) p80 Gladwell Malcom, The New-Boy network: what do job interviews really tell us?” The New Yorker (May 29 2000) p68-86 Jeffery Pfeffer (1998), The Human equation: Building profits by putting people first, Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press Spence M., “Job signaling.” Quarterly Journal of economics ((1973) Vol. 83 no.3) p 354-74 “Avoiding ‘truth or dare’ in reference checks HR Focus, Vol 77. N0 5 May 2000, p5. Read More