Job Analysis and Recruitment and Selection in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors - Coursework Example

Job Analysis and Recruitment and Selection in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors Submission Job Analysis and Recruitment and Selection in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors Introduction Public and non profit sectors are increasingly facing a number of human resource challenges and consequently various techniques such as strategic job analysis, evaluation of performance as well as recruitment and selection are now used by many organizations to help them attract and retain the right employees. Human resource management is generally defined as a system of strategies that ensure the organization taps the best skills, knowledge and abilities of the employees to enable the achievement of organizational goals. According to Pynes (2009), employees are one of the greatest assets as well as expenses needed for the success of any public and non profit organization. As opposed to the corporate profitable organizations where technology has been successfully used to automate many aspects of production and help reduce the number of employees needed in these organizations, public and nonprofit agencies significantly depend on the competence and professionalism of their workforce and can not substitute them with machines. Public and non profit sector are generally labor intensive and most of their budgets often go towards catering for the needs of their employees. Form the top management, directors up to the employees at the lowest level, the success of any public non profit agency largely depends on the quality, competency and professionalism of its workforce. With regard to recruitment and selection, job analysis is often used as the foundation of attracting and retaining employees with the right experiences, knowledge, skills and attributes to perform particular tasks in the organization. This paper summarizes the key points in job analysis and recruitment selection in the public sectors as well as some of the leadership theories that support the implementation of such practices. Job analysis Job analysis is generally the systematic determination of the skills, knowledge, abilities as well as other qualities that are needed in the performance of a particular job in the organization. The information that is often collected during job analysis is significantly important in the undertaking of various human resource management practices such as recruitment and selection, planning, compensation, training, career development, risk management, performance evaluation and job design. For examples job analysis help explains the nature of the particular task, responsibilities involved as well as how the jobs related with the other jobs in the organization. To ensure that non profit organizations maintain the quality of their services, human resource managers are required to precisely identify and project their future needs related to human resources (Alonso and Lewis, 2001). Similarly before making any strategic decisions regarding issues such as recruitment, career development, compensation plans and performance management, the management requires information and data collected during job analysis to enable them make informed decisions. Many human resource management departments are increasingly putting into practice strategic job analysis to help them in their efforts to improve the effectiveness of their organizations. Generally there are a number of HRM activities that significantly depend on job analysis for their effectiveness. For example, during recruitment and selection, human resource departments often use job analysis to enable them identifies the important qualities, knowledge and expertise required in each of the positions to be filled (Perry, 2010). In this regard, job analysis makes it significantly easy to determine the minimum qualification required in a given job depending on the responsibilities and tasks involved. This is particularly important when the process of recruitment and selection or promotion is largely based on pre-employment examination or tests. The tests or examinations should always be related to the skills, personality, knowledge and abilities required in a job and the information regarding all these competencies can only be achieved through a comprehensive job analysis. Another important human resource practice that significantly depends on job analysis is the development of compensation systems in the organization. This is particularly in view of the fact that compensation is often closely related to the requirements of a particular job such as the experience, education and skills necessary to enable them effectively perform their duties at the work place.. A job analysis therefore provides a systematic procedure that can be used to determine the salaries and benefits of various employees working in the organization depending on the nature and demands of the tasks involved in their jobs. On the other hand, during the HRM planning, training and career development, job analysis is often used by employers to help them design the career development as well as training programs by identifying the expertise required for the various jobs. This in turn makes it easier to develop and train the potential employees according to the demands of their jobs and career requirements. Job analysis is also significantly important during the organizational risk management since it can effectively help in the identification of job hazards. Consequently employers and organizational managers can use such information to enable them design training programs related to security, health and safety issues in the organization. There are a number a number of ways which are often used by human resource management departments to collect job analysis information. Some of the methods commonly used include interviews, structure checklist, questionnaires and direct observation. No method of job analysis is however superior than the other. Recruitment and selection Many public and non profit agencies are increasingly developing strategies to enable them select the best qualified personnel. This not only helps these organizations to best deliver their services and programs to the public but it also improves organizational efficiency. In human resource management, recruitment refers to the process by which organizations attract candidates with the required qualifications to submit their applications for the available positions in the particular organization. On the other hand, selection is generally the last stage in the recruitment process when the human resource management team selects the most qualified among the applicants. Both the recruitment as well as the selection processes often demands careful organizational planning that enables the human resource management to effectively determine the specific HR needs of the organization with regard to its immediate objectives and long term goals. Public and non profit organizations often have a number of options when recruiting and selecting individuals to fill the vacant positions in their organizations. For example they can promote their existing employees or recruit new employees who have the necessary skills and experience. On the other hand, organizations can also choose to train the lower level employees to enable them provide the future needs of the organization. In this regard, strategic job analysis should always be carried out regularly to ensure that employees are promoted to new positions that best fit their qualifications while at the same time new talents are tapped from the outside labor market. After the potential employees have submitted their applications, the public or non profit organizations should use criteria that are related to the job to screen and select the best among the applicants. The applicant who do not meet the minimum qualifications needed for the post are eliminated from the selection process and only those who attain the minimum requirements are subjected to the next levels of selection. There are currently a number of techniques for selection available that can be effectively used by human resource managers in various organizations to help them assess the qualifications as well as the productivity levels of the applicants. For example cognitive ability tests, ratings of training and experience, personality inventories, structured interviews and performance tests are some of the most important techniques that are currently employed by many public and non profit agencies to evaluate their potential employees. Recruitment and selection processes must however be conducted in accordance with the federal, state or regional equal employment opportunity laws. Finally after the suitable employees are hired or promoted, the agencies should always record their selection procedures for easy evaluation. It is only through evaluation that organizations can determine their successes as well as their failures during the recruitment process to enable them make the necessary changes. Theories related to Job analysis and recruitment and selection There are a number of theories of leadership and organizational behavior that supports the implementation of strategic job analysis as well as recruitment and selection strategies to improve the efficiency of public and non profit organizations. According to many human resource analysts, these practices not only have a positive impact on the productivity and financial performance of these agencies, but they also enhance the competencies of the employees and improve the quality of the services offered by the particular organizations. Peter (2003) also concur the concepts and principles of some of these leadership theories can be used to understand the importance of strategic human resource activities. For example some theories advocate for continuous job analysis in organizations to ensure that productive existing employees are promoted while at the same time new talents are tapped from the labor market. The theory of scientific management, explains how scientific method can be incorporated in the work place to improve productivity. This theory emphasizes on breakdown of job roles into simpler tasks to attain efficiency. In addition it recognizes and appreciates the role played by outstanding employees by rewarding their efforts. It looks at how certain activities can be done to their optimum by training employees and simplifying given job so that it can be performed in more effective and specialized manner. It takes into consideration specialization at work place to achieve satisfaction. Increased training, acquisition of new skills, ethical standards and standardization of procedures form best practices. In human resource management it has helped ensure professionalism and increased employee competency (Pynes, 2009). In addition by looking at certain psychological traits such as intelligence has been used to determine the kind of work that well suits a given employee. Through recruitment and related interviews Human resource looks for certain traits that will make a given individual competent in a certain position. The interview surrounds the knowledge and the skills in addition to personal characteristics and abilities that are reflected in one’s attitude to come up with a competent person to fill the position. This is very crucial to public and non-profit organizations as people depend on them to solve their problems. In essence it is demanding to carry out such king of work. So if such employees upon employment are not motivated they become frustrated and retaining them becomes the greatest problem to an organization. It has been argued by various researchers and scholars that employees are the greatest resources that any organization can have if it has to remain profitable in the current turbulent market. Job analysis is the process of identifying the specific requirement of a given job and the activities involved so as to isolate a suitable person to carry out the work. According to many analysts, job analysis serves the purpose of providing job specifications and the right person to carry out the functions pertaining to that job. It acts as a source of vital information to recruiters of what skills abilities and other attributes that they should be looking for in an employee to meet the requirements of a specific job. In public and nonprofit sector it is very important to take this into consideration to come up with competent staff. Human resource management incorporates the various aspects of job analysis which include selection, training, remuneration and retention of employees. This is done with as aim of ensuring they remain productive and work to their full capacity. In the public and nonprofit sectors employees happen to be of great importance as they can not be substituted with machinery to carry out their specific roles. (Losey and dave,2005). On the other hand Non profit sectors refer to organizations that are non governmental and other voluntary based organization that do not aim at making profits. In this category are charity organizations among others. These sectors work together to address peoples’ problem. The laws and rules that give the procedures of hiring such employees of the government are well stipulated. In addition their respective salaries vary depending on the scope and kind of work. With increased economic hardships in addition to technological advancement and associated need to cut down on cost most agencies both in public and non-profit sector have changed the strategy of employment, most are avoiding the permanent and pensionable employees. The greatest challenge therefore even to the developed world is how to attract high qualified employees who can intern offer training to the new employees to meet the standards and competency required of them (Losey and Dave, 2005). Advanced technology that calls for increase in the level of knowledge and skills through training and the expectation of providing cost-effective professional services proves to be a big challenge to human resource management. Training forms the basis of employee development and adherence to ethical standards. This is what the theory of scientific management entails and can not be done effectively if competent employees that can train others leave the organization. According to (Van, 2005).The greatest challenge to most organization and sectors are to ensure employee retention and satisfaction. All the leadership theories and concepts support the application of strategic human resource activities in job analysis as well as recruitment and selection. Job analysis helps to come up with job descriptions and specifications that aim at recruiting the best person to conduct the specific task. It is also used to develop performance appraisals, promotion criteria and compensation plan that aim at improving certain aspects in an organization. Conclusion In conclusion, unlike profitable organizations which are increasingly substituting their human resource needs with machines and technology, public agencies heavily rely on the competencies of their employees. Consequently recruitment and selection and job analysis are some of the most important concepts of strategic human resource management in these agencies. For example job analysis helps these organizations to attract and retain employees with the right experiences, knowledge, skills and attributes. References Alonso , P. , Lewis , G. ( 2001 ). Public service motivation and job performance: Evidence from the federal sector . American Review of Public Administration, 31 , 363-380. Losey. M, Dave. U. (2005).The Future of Human Resource Management. Hoboken : John Wiley and Sons. Perry, J. (2010). The Jossey-Bass Reader on Nonprofit and Public Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Peter. G. (2003). Leadership: Theory and Practice.Thousand Oaks: Sage Publicaions. Pynes, J.(2009) Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, 3rd edition. Sans Fransicco: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Van,M. (2005). Dynamics of Leadership in Public Service: Theory and Practice. Armonk: Sharpe publishers. Read More