The Stages of the Recruitment Process - Term Paper Example

Human Resource Management Introduction Organizations are structures with a ‘collage’ of humans or workers doing their allocated work under the supervision of a leader, for the benefit of the organization as well as them. These workers will normally be apportioned or “structurized” into different departments for better arrangement and streamlining of work. The effective functioning of these different departments can only boost an organization by working in unison and thereby actualizing the opportunities on offer. Among the many departments in an organization, the role of Human Resource Department (HRD) is crucial because they only build the ‘collage’ of workers or they only build an optimum workforce on the basis of Human Resource Management. When the organization has good business opportunities, it can set targets and formulate various strategies to achieve those targets, with its constituent workers only playing the omnipresent and the crucial role. So, the workers only form the crucial ‘cog’ in the running of the organization. Only if these crucial workers are recruited optimally through an effective recruitment process incorporating best facets of Human Resource Management, the organization can achieve optimum success. This paper tracing the stages of the recruitment process will discuss the changing roles of Human Resource Management (HRM), focusing on how it has to incorporate more functions as part of recruitment. Changing roles of Human Resource Management (HRM) To run an enterprise or an organization continuously without any break, the recruitment function should be a continuous process. For that, the leader or the managers particularly the Human Resource Manager should perform the recruitment function effectively, when there is a need. That is, it is necessary that the HRD and HRM must ensure a constant availability of sufficient number of efficient employees from managers, executives, technical persons to laborers, for the efficient functioning of the organization. Overall, the recruited or selected personnel should be physically, mentally, emotionally and temperamentally fit for the job. That is, for the organizations or HRD, recruiting the apt workers is not the end of the task. They have to aptly ‘staff’ the staffs through a effective staffing process, by coaching and mentoring the recruited workers, so they fit into the job, for which they are recruited for and also perform the best in that job. After recruiting the new staffs, organizations as part of the changing roles of Human Resource Management should also ‘staff’ the recruited staffs optimally as part of the staffing process. That is, when the recruited and the existing employees fall short in their performance, mainly due to lack of skill and knowledge about the process, they can be coached and mentored as part of the staffing process. In competitive environments, every organization including public or private or MNCs or domestic organizations should keep on upgrading its product and services, and for that, the employees have to be upgraded first. To upgrade the employees, HRM’s role also needs to be changed. The recruited employees should need to be given orientation and training to integrate or assimilate with the working environment and importantly fulfill the work needs. This can be achieved by adopting or by having an optimal recruitment process, which apart from recruiting apt employees, should also train and equip the employees. So, only if the workers are recruited perfectly and trained effectively, they can work perfectly and provide optimum productivity. Recruitment - Basis Recruitment function forms the first and the main part of the selection of apt candidates, whatever is the type of the organization. There will be difference in the way leader or HRD recruits employees for a new organization and for an existing organization based on HRM. But, whatever be the type of the organization, the recruitment function to recruit apt employees forms the first part. The main function of those given the responsibility of personnel management was to recruit and select staff. Normally, organizations or HRD or its leader in the initial stages will recruit or build a working group of employees, by associating individuals who came from the same ‘stable’ like friends, work mates, family members, etc. This mainly happens at the start of the organization. Then, as the organization continues to function, setting different targets, it will give rise to different needs, necessitating recruitment of new employees. These employees will be recruited based on their education, skill level, knowledge, experience, attitude, etc based on HRM concepts. That is, as Schein (2004) said, “... best way to build an organization was to hire very smart, articulate, tough, independent people and then give them lots of responsibility and autonomy”. So, recruitment particularly recruitment of apt employees forms a key part of the organization’s functioning or even its survival. “Together, effective recruitment and retention attracts individuals to the organization and also increases the chance of retaining the individuals once they are hired” (Jackson and Schuler, 2003). Thus, recruitment is the discovery of the staff member for the present and future jobs that is available and could be available in an organization. The success of any recruitment depends upon the procedure followed by the company, so that apt employees are recruited. Recruitment – initial process Recruitment is the process by which organizations discover, develop, seek, and attract individuals to fill actual or anticipated job vacancies. Or from another perspective, it is a bridge-building activity—bringing together those with jobs to fill and those seeking jobs. To undergo this procedure, the HRD in any organization has to prepare a job analysis, for each employee, required for specific jobs. It will lead to a written job description that has important implications for not only employee selection, but for also training and performance appraisal. For example, if the HRD are looking for an employee to deal with the marketing department of an organization, they should prepare a job description clearly specifying what role the recruited person has to play and expect applicants to have experience in the marketing field. Therefore, the management needs to have a clear understanding of the basic selection criteria relevant for their organizations. Such criteria typically include factors such as formal education and past experience, skills and abilities, and personal characteristics, and how all fit with the overall organization may be even more important. “Skills, experience, and knowledge have economic value to organizations because they enable to be productive and adaptable” (Jackson and Schuler, 2003). With this job analysis, the job description can be published through various mediums and the prospective employees who match those descriptions can approach the organization. So, the aim here is to produce a good pool of applicants and select the best out of these to fit the job. The recruitment team during the selection process should try to minimize (a) false positive errors, whereby the selection process predicts success for an applicant in the job, and who is therefore hired, but who fails in the working environment and (b) false negative errors, whereby an applicant who would have succeeded in the job is rejected because the process predicted failure (Boddy, 2002). The objectives of a optimal recruitment policy is to first locate and attract as many well-qualified recruits as one needs for an organization; second, to maintain or raise the total value of the organization’s human assets; third, to minimize the cost incurred by the recruitment process when unsuitable persons are selected or when recruitment has adverse effects on the morale of employees already in place. Therefore, the whole aim of an effective recruitment process is to get effective employees, so that HRD can positively visualize how he/she would fit into the new position. Recruitment and Organizational goals, strategies, etc Recruitment process is a critical one for the organization as a whole and for all the managers, especially Human Resource Managers. Recognizing the importance of these aspects, today’s successful organizations invest substantial amounts of time, effort, and money in recruiting the needed human resources even reorienting HRM (Sims, 2002). The wrong selection can result in months of frustration, repetitive training, documentation, and low morale to the newly recruited employees prior to the eventual termination, after which the recruitment process has to begin all over again. Employee recruitment is a decision based process, in which the correct decision needs to be made at the first time. Recruiting the right people is also critical to successful strategy implementation. Thus, the organizational strategies or goals will surely have an effect on job vacancies, job duties and design, and these aspects should drive recruitment. For instance, if an organization particularly service oriented organization, plans to compete on the basis of prompt, polite, personalized service, then service and communication skills should be featured in the job specifications. It is through the people management system that the firm influences the human capital pool and elicits the desired employee behavior. (Jackson and Schuler, 2003). This is based on the assumption that the organization’s strategy is clear, well known, and fairly stable, so that people who fit the strategy can be recruited. Recruitment of mentally fit candidates Apart from the basic recruitment criteria of education, experience, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics, organizations based on HRM can use a variety of techniques for gathering information about job candidates, including background checks, mental tests, physical examinations, etc. The basic purpose is, organizations should take extreme care to recruit good and morally strong employees. This can be done if the corporation conducts extensive reference checks and collects background information from various sources about the employees, who have fulfilled all the job needs and are on the verge of being absorbed into the corporation. This will constitute an important and unavoidable cost. The collected information has to be given precedence and even if the prospective employee had good qualifications, his/her character should be fully checked before being eventually selected. The mental frame or attitude of the worker should be importantly assessed to pick workers with the correct or apt attitude. (Field, 2004). That is, the cause of any human actions and reactions is due to their mental framework. The mental part of the body only through experience, knowledge, exposure etc, etc…initiates the action of the humans. And this applies to the employees of the organization as well. So, if theirs’ mind is analyzed by certain tests before recruitment and also during the working period, it will give a fair idea of how the worker will behave in the course of his/her employment. The organization can find whether the candidates have high mental qualities, through many processes including personality tests, which asses the unique blend of characteristics that define an individual (Jackson and Schuler, 2003). The EQ test will be of main use during the recruitment stage by giving a fair idea about the person. Most times, it gives a fair idea of the subject, suitability for the job and whether he/she can function effectively fulfilling the job requirements. The testing of the human mind and the attitudes can be done through widely used tests of EQ (Emotional Quotient). Also called as Emotional Intelligence Quotient, it describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of ones self, of others, and of groups. (selfleadership.com). In this definition, the word ‘emotion’ is the keyword, because every worker will have emotions and these emotions will only come out when one acts and reacts. Emotional Intelligence Test rates the employees’ ability to regulate their emotions in a healthy and balanced manner. The EQ tests will provide a better understanding of the workers and the tests should be carried in the form of a questionnaire. The answers from the options given will speak volumes about the character of the individual. After completion of the test, the employer or the recruitment team will be provided with the prospective employees’ emotional strengths and weaknesses. “While intelligence and technical skills are certainly important for success, it has been shown that emotional intelligence is twice as important in achieving excellent performance for jobs at all levels of an organization.” (Field, 2004). Awareness of the prospective employees’ emotional abilities allows the employer to pick the right and effective employees, who can work according the work situations and provide a sincere work to the organization. Staffing as part of recruitment process After the employees are selected, they will be prepared to start the work as soon as possible. However, before the ‘greenhorns’ are placed in highly responsible positions, they need to be given necessary orientation and training as part of the staffing process. That is, the prospective employees may show optimum interest, performance, etc at the time of recruitment, but after selection, while working in the organization they many under-perform. After performing well during the recruitment process and getting the job, they may become over-confident and may not put the same effort during their work. Also, if the organization fails to give them an optimal working environment as promised during the recruitment process, employees may not perform well in that scenario also. In that case, with the changing roles of HRM, the recruitment process has to be extended in the guise of the staffing process to optimally equip the employees. So, this where a staffing process through coaching and mentoring will come into the picture, equipping the recruited employees and matching the job needs of the organization. Staffing involves coaching and mentoring the job seekers to make them fit for a particular job (koreone.com) Coaching and Mentoring as part of the extended Recruitment process Organizations should coach or mentor the recruited staffs and even the old employees, for it reach the top echelons. “Coaching and Mentoring can be used to effectively unlock the potential that already exists within any organization. The organization’s most valuable resource is its people or put more concretely, the knowledge and passion that resides within the hearts and minds of its people” (oaktraining.com). That is, when the recruited employees fall short in their performance, mainly due to lack of skill and knowledge about the process, they can be coached or mentored. As mentioned above, after the recruitment, the employees will be prepared to start the work, but when they have doubts about the processes and also fall short in performance, the recruited employees as part of the staffing process should need to be coached or mentored to get the much needed confidence and motivation. This coaching or mentoring will be mainly carried out at the time of recruitment and can also be incorporated as a regular or annual feature, and this constitutes the best practice. Organizations by using the services of existing experienced employees or experts from outside can coach or mentor the under-skilled existing workers and also the newly recruited groups of workers. An wholesome coaching and mentoring program will do a world of good for the employees, as they will become equipped skill wise and knowledge wise, and will be able to undertake theirs allocated work with renewed confidence. Research shows that mentoring and coaching are among a host of interventions employed by organizations (de Janasz & Sullivan, 2004) to improve human performance. Coaches will monitor the outcomes of the employees, and if the outcome was not up to the expected levels, they will again involve themselves as well as the employees in finding out the correct solution, to get the desired results. On the other hand, the recruited employees will only approach the mentors more often and seek their advice. The relationship between the coach and the recruited employees may continue only in some cases, with each other parting away in their own ways. However, in case of mentoring, the mentors and the recruited employees can have a relationship as long as they could, even after the recruited employees become permanent employees. Coaching and Mentoring have become an integral part of any organizations’ functioning, with the recruited employees themselves expecting some aid. This trend of employees expecting coaching or mentoring is visible in many organizations. “Recent CIPD surveys have reported that the use of coaching and mentoring as development tools are on the increase within organisations. According to respondents, 72% use formal mentoring schemes and 88% expect line managers to deliver coaching as part of their day to day work.” (trainingzone.co.uk). As both coaching and mentoring are equally beneficial to the employees and the organizations, most often both the terms are used interchangeably. So, by recruiting skilled employees and importantly by coaching or mentoring the existing and new employees optimally through an extended recruitment process, organizations can actualize many opportunities, and achieve optimum success. Conclusion In an organization, all the employees have to perform at their optimal best for the organization to achieve success and increase profits. Organizations can achieve both, if efficient employees are recruited. The apt and equipped employees can be recruited by having a well-organized recruitment process incorporating apt HRM policies. As the organization recruits news staffs, majority of them will have the necessary skills and the capability to do the job, but few of them have to coached or mentored. Unison of employees into a team with an urge to usher an organization into a favorable scenario will be a successful endeavor, if the leader or importantly Human Resource Department or HR Manager exhibit optimum function. If the leader or HRD following needed HRM policies pick, equip and unite the employees through effective recruitment process, then the organization would have a ubiquitous presence all over the world. References Boddy, D. (2004). Management: An Introduction. 2nd ed. (Harlow: Prentice Hall). De Janasz, S.C. & Sullivan. (2004). “S.E. Multiple mentoring in academe: Developing the professional network.” Journal of Vocational Behavior. 62: 263- 83. Field, T. (2004). Successful leaders possess emotional intelligence LEADERSHIP: Entertainment & media. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000684006 Jackson, SE and Schuler, RS. (2003). Managing Human Resources for Strategic Partnership. (Perth: Thomson South Western) koreone.com. Staffing Agency in Orange County. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://www.koreone.com/resource-guide/staffing-agency-orange-county.php oaktraining.com. Coaching and Mentoring. Retrieved November 6, 2009 from http://www.oaktraining.com/coaching.html trainingzone.co.uk. Coaching and Mentoring: Understanding the Differences. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=154289 Schein, EH. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass) selfleadership.com. Emotional Intelligence Training. Retrieved November 7, 2009 from http://www.selfleadership.com/emotional_intelligence_at_work.htm Sims, RR. (2002). Organizational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management. (Westport, CT: Quorum Books) Read More