The Recruitment and Selection Strategies - Coursework Example

Introduction There are various tasks that are carried out in human resource management. Part of the tasks includes the recruitment and selection process in an organisation. It is through this exercise that the management team ensures that they hire the best candidates to work in the organisation. While this imperative venture may seem very easy to accomplish, it is usually faced with myriad challenges. (De Cieri and Kramar, 2008) The process is characterised by overall identification of suitable candidates. This is carried out within the organisation and also in the external market. The selection process usually commences once the potential candidates have been identified. The information relating to candidates is then evaluated accordingly. This is after collecting and measuring. It is quite vital to note that different organisations use diverse methods of recruitment and selection. (Dale, 2001) The time taken for the process to be accomplished also differs from one organisation to another. This also depends on the urgency of employees in the Company. This paper therefore looks at how one can evaluate the recruitment and selection strategies of an organisation. It further elaborates on the dangers of using the suggested methods. (Dale, 2001) Evaluation methods It is never enough to carry out recruitment and selection of staffs in an organisation. It is quite essential that an evaluation of the strategies be carried out. Evaluation of the strategies helps to ensure various aspects are adhered to. These include the adherence to organisational policies, ensuring the best candidates were selected and every candidate was given an equal chance. (De Cieri and Kramar, 2008) The methods also help in ensuring that the recruitment and selection process is cost effective and will not lead to unnecessary losses for the organisation. Other aspects to evaluate relate to the overall image created by the Company in the recruitment and selection process. Through evaluation, it is easier to ascertain whether the process was effective in reaching out to the required candidates available in the market. (Dale, 2001) Employee turnover rates One way through which recruitment and selection strategies in an organisation can be evaluated is through using a measurement standard. It can be quite challenging to critic a recruitment and selection process where there is no measurement standard. In the venture of trying to evaluate the recruitment and selection processes in an organisation, then a measurement standard has to be incorporated. (De Cieri and Kramar, 2008) One of the standards that can be used is the turnover rates of employees in the organisation. A high turnover rate in the organisation definitely signifies that the recruitment and selection process was poorly done. This is normally the ratio of the total number of employees in the Company within a specific timeframe to the number of staffs that have to be replaced. (De Cieri and Kramar, 2008) One of the advantages of using this method is that it is very simple and easy to use. The other advantage is that it is quantitative in nature and can easily be calculated. It does not require special expertise to carry out the calculations. This method also takes into consideration the aspect of time therefore making it quite relevant and up to date. Despite the advantages, the method also has its negative side. It is quite evident that the aspect of employee turnover may not really relate to the recruitment and selection strategy. It could be linked to many other factors in the organisation such as the working environment and salaries among other factors. The turnover rates in an organisation can be affected by the competition in the market. (Diana Winstanley, 2000) Reviewing the costs of the strategies This is also another method that can be used to evaluate the recruitment and selection strategies of an organisation. This is whereby the costs incurred in all the organisation’s recruitment and selection processes. In this case, the cost incurred in advertising for the vacant posts has to be evaluated. (Ulrich, 1996) This also includes the costs of carrying out interviews and communicating and carrying out induction of new employees. In analysing the costs, the time taken by the human resource personnel in carrying out the process has to be put into consideration. It is essential to review the expenditure associated with recruitment and selection of the new employees. In this case, there has to be a return on investment. The venture should not be a loss to the organisation but that which is accruing profits. (Diana Winstanley, 2000) This method is quite advantageous. This is considering the fact that it looks at the overall profitability of the venture. This is considering the fact that every business activity has to bring in profits. It ensures that the organisation does not suffer losses in the name of carrying out recruitment and selection process. (Diana Winstanley, 2000) There are also some disadvantages of using this method to carry out the evaluation of recruitment and selection strategies of an organisation. One of the limitations is the fact that some of the aspects carried out in the recruitment and selection process cannot be easily quantified in monetary terms. For instance, the time and stress taken by the management team to accomplish the entire process can be challenging to quantify in terms of cash. It is also essential to note that the use of this evaluation strategy can make the management team fail to exhaust all methods of recruitment and selection leading to compromise of screening process hence recruitment of staffs who may not be the right candidates for the Company. Evaluation in line with legal requirements Every nation has laws and regulations that have to be strictly adhered to when carrying out business processes. Recruitment and selection process is not an exception. It is therefore essential to evaluate the degree which the recruitment and selection strategies adhered to the laws and regulations. Some nations require that citizens be given a certain percentage of the vacant positions in an organisation. This evaluation also deals with matters relating to the standards and laws set by the government. It also entails aspects of anti-discrimination against age, colour, race and gender among other factors. This method is quite advantageous. This is considering the fact that the knowledge of any issues that were not adhered to legal requirements can be corrected. This is before the organisation is noticed by relevant authorities. This can result in bad publicity about the Company which has detrimental effects. Such an occurrence is also usually accompanied by various fines that can be quite expensive for the Company. (Guest, 1997) On the other hand, this method may not be the best for evaluating recruitment and selection strategies in an organisation. This is considering the fact that some job descriptions within an organisation may require a person of a specific gender, age or a native who can speak the local language. This therefore shows that the results of this method may not give the true picture concerning the situation at hand. Administering questionnaires to new recruits This is one of the best methods that can be incorporated in evaluation of recruitment and selection strategies in an organisation. This can be done immediately after finishing the process. The questionnaires are then administered before the candidates are informed whether they are successful or not. (Marchington and Adrian, 2005) The questionnaires need to find out various issues concerning the recruitment and selection process. This is basically concerning the views of the candidates relating to the entire process. Some of the questions that can be included in the questionnaire relates to whether the process was fair, whether the questions asked were relevant or not. Some of the questions can relate to the attitude of the interviewees. This is whether they were friendly or rude etc. This is considering the fact that people who may feel mistreated in the recruitment process have very high chances of spreading a negative word of mouth about the Company. They may also never apply for other positions when there are vacancies. (Laursen and Foss, 2003) This may end up tarnishing the image of the organisation in the industry. Other questions that should be included should relate to how the process is affecting the Company’s image. In this case, the candidates can be asked the overall perception that they accrued of the business from the entire process. (Maundy, 2001) It is very essential in such a situation to uphold confidentiality. In this case, the candidates would be required not to indicate their names of the questionnaires. This would give them the freedom to air out their views concerning the recruitment and selection process. The questionnaires would then be analysed and conclusions drawn depending on the prevalence of the responses. (Williams, Labig, Chalmer, 1993) This method is quite practical and has various advantages. First and foremost, the method considers the feelings of the candidates who are in a position to judge the process. The results are thoroughly analysed and conclusions drawn accordingly. This therefore makes this method highly reliable since the views of all the candidates are captured. Furthermore they are not from within the organisation and so they have very high chances of saying the truth concerning the process. The other advantage is the fact that the questionnaires can be used for future reference. This therefore makes them more advantageous as compared to other methods. (Michael, McDaniel and Deborah, 1994) On the other hand, this process also has its disadvantages. One of the limitations is that some of the candidates may not fill the questionnaires. The candidates may misinterpret the questions and this would affect their responses. This therefore would result in conclusions that are not well represented among the candidates. There are chances that the candidates may think that the activity is part of recruitment and selection process. This means that they may try to give answers that can favour them to be recruited. This means that the results or responses may be biased in one way or the other. (Truss, 2001) This method can also be time consuming and include a lot of paper work. Analysis of the use of this method shows that it is also quite costly to use. The analysis part requires prior knowledge on research analysis which may call for further knowledge before analysing. The other danger of using this method is that the candidates may have forgotten some aspects of the recruitment and selection process. This is more so if they are administered after a period of time elapses. In situations where the questions are open-ended, the data generated may be voluminous hence use a lot of time in analysis. (Wendy Ulrich, 2010) Focus group discussions This can also be used to evaluate the recruitment and selection strategy of an organisation. In this case, focus groups can be carried out at the end of the whole process. The candidates can be put in groups and asked various questions concerning the recruitment and selection process. Conclusions would then be drawn concerning the responses of the candidates about the recruitment and selection exercise. (Sparrow and Hilltop, 1994) This method is highly advantageous. This is considering the fact that it is less time consuming. The fact that the information is accrued from a group set up increases its validity. This is considering the fact that the candidates would consent on issues that are true etc. It is also beneficial since confirmations and clarifications can be done. This is unlike the questionnaire method where stakeholders interpret. This method is limited in the sense that not all candidates may have the time for the discussions. There are also very high chances that candidates may fail to speak the truth for fear of victimisation. This definitely would affect the results of the overall evaluation of the recruitment and selection strategy. (Kotler, 1996) Analysis of applications This is also one of the methods through which the recruitment and selection strategy in an organisation can be analysed. This is whereby the information pertaining to the applicants is analysed. In this case, the number of applicants can be an indicator whether the process of advertisement used was effective or not. If the number of applicants is too few, then the method of advertisement or communication of vacancy may not have been effective. This can be an indicator that not all the potential candidates were reached. It may also indicate that the timing of the advertisement could have been poor. (Smith, 2006) The other aspect that needs to be analysed is the type of candidates who apply for the advertised post. If the applicants are of required qualifications, then it clearly shows that the recruitment strategy was effective. However if ninety percent of the applicants do not have the required specifications, then the whole strategy incorporated in recruitment and selection can be said to be ineffective. This method also has its advantages and limitations. One of the advantages of using this method to evaluate the success of recruitment strategy is the fact that that it is simple to use. This means that one does not require specialised training to use this method of evaluation. It is also less costly compared to use of questionnaires etc. This method highly shows whether the advertisement was effective in reaching the potential applicants or not. (Thomson and Rampton, 2003) This therefore can help the management to change the advertisement strategy used. The limitation of this method relates to the fact that it highly analyses aspects of advertisement of vacant post. This is just a single aspect of the recruitment and selection strategy. This therefore clearly shows that it is not comprehensive in nature but narrows down on aspects of advertisement. (Becker and Gerhart, 1996) Conclusion In conclusion, it is not sufficient to implement a recruitment and selection strategy in an organisation. It is however imperative to carry out evaluations of the incorporated strategy. This helped to show the aspects of cost effectiveness, adherence to set law and regulations and Company image etc. There are various methods that can be used to evaluate the recruitment and selection strategy of an organisation. They include calculation of turnover rate, questionnaire method, focus groups, analysis of applicants’ information and reviewing the costs of the strategies. All these methods have their advantages and limitations. It is not sufficient to use one method but incorporate at least three methods in the evaluations. This will definitely help in accrual of valid results. Read More