Staffing Management - Essay Example

Recruitment and selection function in an organization is the first stage of interaction between an employer and an employee. The organizational goals in conducting this process are to capture the best mix of talent and competencies while candidates expect that organizations provide true, reliable and fair information of their policies, vacancies and demands in their staffing advertisements. The entire process is multi-staged and perceptions of fairness and non-discriminatory are involved in every single stage. As such, legal implications hold a strong place in the entire process of recruitment and selection. Right from the identification of workforce needs to defining the criteria, advertising the vacancies, selecting and inducting the candidates to subsequent measurement and evaluation of the process, legalities are considered essential in making the process a ‘good practice’. Starting from identifying the capacity and nature of workforce required, employers need to lay down the specifications of the diversity mix they aim to introduce in their organization. This involves clarifying the demographics, qualification, skill set, education, competencies and other abilities. The point of contention which arises here is the possibility of overt or systematic discrimination creeping in, based on caste, color, creed, race, religion, gender, marital status, minority and such other factors (Markey et al. 2002). From organizational point of view, competencies are defined in advance just for the purpose of matching the core jobs with that of candidate’s profile, leaving scope of adjustment for peripheral duties and responsibilities of the job. However, discriminating candidates on the basis of such criteria denies them equality of opportunity in the first place, and later on from appropriate training and development session organized and managed by the organization. Pandey (2006, p.21) gives some exceptional cases where sex or religion is not considered as unlawful in segregating the candidature of employees, like playing role for a movie or a drama. But in general, such practices are considered anti to the equal opportunity laws. Evidence of discriminatory practices constitutes the type of questions asked during selection interviews. Though basic information has to be provided by the candidate, yet federal laws have now prohibited asking questions on marital status, weight and height, education, child care, demographics, ownership and such other details. Purpose behind such prohibition is to safeguard the interests of women and under-represented communities who are denied of equal opportunities on the basis of their height, care giving duties, availability to work on weekends, etc (Strahan & Burgess 1998). This discrimination extends to even compensation and promotion techniques adopted by the management of the organization. Lately, initial screening and assessments stages in recruitment and selection process have turned advanced with the advent of technologies like Interactive Voice Responses system (IVR) and social networking tools. Though these technologies have simplified the entire process, but in reality have posed many legal challenges ahead HR practitioners and policy makers. Primary amongst them is the inability of such hiring practices in giving due attention to applicants suffering from disabilities like hearing and visual impairment. Further, it limits the accommodation by providing access to people having internet connection. This gives direct birth to ‘disparate impact’ whereby web-based hiring creates membership and access based on sub-groups, age etc. Employers are also making extensive use of social networking tools and websites like Facebook, Twitter and other to conduct background checks and gather information and confirming the credentials of candidates. This directly gives rise to invasion of privacy and unlawful spying on profiles of candidates which are otherwise not considered as authentic means of background investigation or reference checking. Such technological idiosyncrasy results in increased law suits and illegitimate recruitment process adopted by organizations in creating pool of talent to select from. Other than discrimination, adherence to labor laws and market conditions also has a bearing on the recruitment and selection process of organizations. For industries like shipping and tourism, compatibility with host country labor laws, cultural settings and language and educational trade-offs remain important consideration in legal settings of employment. Especially in professional sectors like healthcare, work permits, immigration of workers, complying with laws of the industry and verifying the personal record of candidates is of utmost importance from safety and effective recruitment process point of view. Coming on to the data collection techniques adopted by HR managers in recruitment and selection procedure, concerns of validity, reliability and authentication in collection of data and ratings from supervisors and employees remain a pre-requisite activity. Workforce planning and capacity emanates from current features of jobs in the organization and their future requirements or modifications. Absence of proper collection and validation of data provides spurious results which automatically lead to distorted recruitment and selection process. Existing job conditions lay the foundation to specify job descriptions, job specifications, and occupational safety and pay related aspects. Without due attention to such minute details, recruitment and selection remains unjust in the eyes of law and perceived fairness of procedures remain doubtful to candidates. Such evidences and presence of legalities in every single stage of recruitment and selection emphasize upon and highlight the importance of understanding legal implications inherent in this process. Prior to an informal relationship, recruitment is a contract between two parties- employer and employee. Just like a contract is characterized by agreement, consideration, competency, communication and acceptance and accordance to public policy, likewise, employment also demands crystal clear specifications and laying down clear cut criteria for selection. Agreement feature is based on trust and confidence between parties to contract that both are furnishing true and reliable facts to each other. From employer’s perspective, it is obligatory for him to abide by the rules and provide for equal opportunity rights to individuals seeking to get a position within an organization. Laws have gained all the more importance as businesses are going global. Securing the benefits and rights of employees is one of the considerations involved in the contract of employment. When employees provide their efforts and services, they expect perceived and procedural fairness in the entire process of recruitment and selection. Right from devising recruitment strategies, use of internal or external sources and other mediums, it is important that employers provide equal chance to all who deserve to hold the advertised position. The acceptance of the position by employees hold relevance and significance only when employers have supplied complete details of their demands and policies of organization in regard to future human resource aspects like training, compensation, personal development, career planning, etc. As stated above, recruitment and selection is the first contact between an employer and an employee. As such, subsequent interactions and contribution from employer side in terms of trust, justice and equality are perceived in the first instance of recruitment and selection. If techniques and methods used are partial or illegitimate or making use of favoritism, the reputation, brand image and ethical responsibility of business is damaged (Gilliland 1993). Employees are the internal customers for an organization. This call for appropriate and just treatment with them also like external customers is treated. It is the workforce which handles all other resources of the organization and hence, treatment of employees in a legitimate and secured manner paves the way to harmonious and collaborative relationships. Reflecting the public policy aspect of a traditional contractual agreement, employers even have to make clear the work place security settings, use of machinery, hazardous conditions or any aspect of employment which can have an impact on the safety and security of employees. Employers need to understand this because recruitment and selection is not limited to just intake of candidates; it extends beyond to induction of employees as well as their post-recruitment tenure at office and even the dismissal, retirement or promotion. Several labor laws and unions constantly work in order to secure cooperative work relations between employers and employees. In times of strikes, lay-offs, lockouts, etc. employers are required to abide by these laws and consider the rights and benefits of both the organization and the workers. This helps sustain the brand image and ethical stance of the company. Looking at instances where law guides the recruitment and selection process, it is pretty much obvious that legal requirements and their careful understanding in contemporary business practice are of critical significance. With globalization and widespread use of technical advancements, adherence to legalities involved is going to be all the more stringent and necessary to safeguard the interests of workers and employees. Works cited Gilliland, S.W. 1993. “The perceived fairness of selection systems: an organizational justice perspective.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 18, no. 4, 694-734. Markey, R, Hodgkinson, A & Kowalski, J, 2002, “Gender, part-time employment and employee participation in Australian workplaces”, Employee Relations, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 129–151. Pandey, Ashish, Staffing Management, 3rd edn, New Delhi: Global Vision Publishing, 2006. Strahan, G & Burgess, J, 1998, “Toward a new deal for women workers in Australia? Growing employment share, enterprise bargaining and the “family friendly” workplace”, Equal Opportunities International, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 1–12. Read More