Methods and Techniques Used to Select Employees - Case Study Example

Name: XXX Tutor: XXX Title: Human Resource Management Institution: XXX Date of Submission: XXX Introduction Employee selection and identification is a critical management function. The aim of this process is to hire the most appropriate and suitable candidate for the particular job. Most organizations have several techniques used to identify the right employees to be hired. However in the recent past, most of the organizations have found some difficulties after hiring employees (Rowena, 2011). This is mainly attributed to the methods and techniques used to hire the employees. Such organizations have had to incur extra expenses in trying to get replacements. Others have been forced to train the new employees which has also turned out to be very expensive. These issues also affect the employees themselves as most of them become frustrated and some are forced to change their careers. This issue has therefore led to a debate on whether the technique used to select employees is efficient. It has also been noted that most organizations use only one technique when selecting an employee. With the changes in the job market candidates who are not qualified ends up being selected through this method. The essay will evaluate some of the methods and techniques used by various organizations to select employees. The paper will then discuss why there is need for various methods of selecting employees and not just one or two. Methods and techniques used to select employees Interviewing This technique is used by the majority of employers whenever they are identifying the best suited individual to work for them. This method involves direct assessment of individuals. The individual are asked questions and the selection panel awards individuals points depending on how well they answer the questions. This Method is popular since the employers are able to meet the candidates face to face. Most of the employers will want to know how the employee can perform under pressure and thus subject them to tough questions. The rate of confidence can also be determined through this method (Beardwell, 2010). This is mainly based on how the candidate responds to questions being asked. Interviewing of candidates may not only include theoretical questions but also candidates may be subjected to practical interviews. This is mainly for the purpose of determining the abilities and skills that the individuals posses. Most of the companies will then rank the candidates according to their performances. The best performer will then be employed. This method has been quite efficient in the past and thus its popularity. Some of the employers would also prefer to see how the candidates conduct themselves in terms of dressing and behavior. This is more common in positions where the employees will be required to deal directly with clients or high profile persons. The presentation is what the employer may be interested in and thus the direct interview. (Bratton, 2007) Work experience and profiling In the current job market, work experience is the most important factor. Most employees would want to employ workers who already know what to do. This is common since the employers do not want to incur extra cots in terms of training the employees further so as to be fully competent. Other feels that the employees who are not experienced will take a lot of time to adopt and thus time wastage for productive purposes (Muller-Carmen, 2008). This has seen most candidates shying away from applying for a particular post. In areas where tough decision making and practicals will be required, most of the employers feel that those candidates who area not experienced will not be able to handle the position. They believe that such employees will make poor decisions that will end up affecting the company. The employers with thus scrutinize the list of potential candidates and the one with the highest level of experience is awarded the job. Bratton et al. (2007), points out that in some instances the employers will profile the candidates depending on the requirements of the company and the job. The company may want to employ candidates from a certain geographical region or township. This is common in areas where the employee will have to deal directly with the local people who may not understand foreign languages. It will thus be reasonable to employ candidates from that particular region. Other employers will prefer employing candidates from a particular gender or religion. The employers will scrutinize the profile of candidates and select the most suitable depending on the set conditions. This might be discriminatory in most countries but it is applicable in some situations (Taylor, 2005). Personality, aptitude, skills and ability tests Depending on the type of job, the employers may be looking for certain skills or abilities that bare necessary for the job. This will therefore mean that the candidates have to e subjected to a test so as to gauge their ability, skills or personalities. The company may not want to employ a candidate who cannot perform certain important tasks. This is mainly because it may lead to losses or use of more resources in training the employee. A job that requires practical skills will require a test to determine the suitability of the candidate. An example being the post of a mechanic or electrician (Torrington, 2005). The only means that can be used to determine whether the employee is able to perform the job is by subjecting them to practical tests. Another example is the military. The candidates have to be physically fit and the only way to determine is through subjecting them to physical exercises. The personality is also important in this type of test. Some jobs may require persons who are talkative and convincing. This may be relevant in the field of sales and marketing. The employer will thus subject the candidates to tests that will determine their ability to perform the jobs as required of them. Points are usually awarded to the candidates depending on how well they perform in the tests. The cut off marks can be set to determine how well the candidate has scored. This cut off marks can be lowered or raised depending on how the candidates perform. The candidate with the highest marks is then awarded the job (Demand Media, 2012). Why companies no longer relay on one or two techniques to select candidates According to the techniques discussed above, most of the companies relay on one or two methods of selecting employees. Most companies prefer interviewing candidates as it gives them an opportunity to interact directly with them. However despite this advantage, there are so many weaknesses of this method. The employers end up with the wrong employees. During the interviews some employers may want a candidate who answers all the questions correctly and they are ranked the best and thus granted the employment opportunity. In the current job market, most of the candidates do a lot of research before attending an interview. This gives them the required knowledge and they are able to answer most of the questions correctly. The internet also provides most of the answers to most of the interview questions and thus simplifying the work for these candidates (Leigh, 2011). When they pass the interviews and they are employed, a problem will always arise. This is because most of those do not adequately address some areas like experience and personalities. The theoretical questions have little impact when practicals will be required in the course of performing the duties. This therefore puts the company and the employee in a disadvantaged position. Errors might occur during interviews placing some candidates in a disadvantaged position while others may benefit. This results to poor rating which will affect the outcome of the interview. In this case if interviewing is the only method used then the company will end up with the wrong candidate. This affects the company’s reputation as well as affecting the candidates (Susan, 2012). In instances where the company prefers using experience as the determining factor for employment, it might end up choosing candidates who are experienced on the job but have poor personalities and low confidence level. Some candidates also have the potential to perform but do not have the experience. This can be attributed to various factors like lack of opportunities. The company may thus end up selecting the experienced candidate but lock out candidates with potential. However if more than one technique is used, it will be easier to notice the potential in the candidates who are not experienced. Most companies therefore ends up with employees who may be gifted in only one area but are not competent in the rest (Thomas, 2012). The company stands to loose a lot in this case. This is because it will be required to train the employees on the other areas which may end up wasting a lot of time and resources. In some instances, the company may be forced to dismiss the employee and start the process of hiring once again. This will be quite expensive for the company and it will waste a lot of time and resources. Candidates who are experienced may not necessarily be the best. The may have major weaknesses in other areas which will require a lot of time to overcome. It is therefore important to subject the candidates to all the necessary techniques of selecting employees. This will draw a conclusive detail about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates (Sign, 2011). Other means of selecting employees includes profiling and tests. Most of the companies operating within the construction manufacturing and production industry rely only on the ability of the candidates to pass the given test. As this will show that they are competent in the work they will be required to do. However, these companies end up loosing a lot of potential due to the type of employees they have hired. Most of the candidates who pass the test may not have other qualities like experience and personality. They therefore end up treating the clients poorly. This greatly affects the company since most of the clients will opt out f the association with the company. Profiling the candidates and selecting the ones that meet the set criteria is not efficient when other methods are not included. According to Torrington et al. (2005), the selected candidate may have no experience and this method also locks out most of the potential talent that the company could benefit from in future projects. Due to these concerns, most of the companies have realized that using one or two techniques when selecting candidates does not produce the best. The companies therefore are adopting a method of recruitment where all the necessary areas are addressed and this ensures that the best candidate is selected. Some of the companies that are using more than one technique of selecting employees are registering good results and always get the best employees (Schmidt, 1998). Conclusion According to the paper, various methods of selecting employees exist. Most of the companies have narrowed their selection to only one or two techniques. According to the paper, most of the companies end up wasting a lot of time and resources in trying to train the employees in other areas. The companies also find it difficult to start the rehiring process again as it wastes a lot of manpower. The paper urges that the best way to hire the best candidate is through subjecting them to more than one technique of selecting employees. This is mainly because it gives all the areas of strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. According to the paper most of the companies currently use more than one technique and it is registering positive results. This has seen the reduction of costs incurred during the training of the employees and a lot of time is also saved for productive use by the company. References Bratton, J. et al. 2007, Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, (4th ed.), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Torrington, D.et al. 2005, Human Resource Management, (6th ed.), Harlow: Prentice Hall. Demand Media. 2012, Methods of employee selection. Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From http://www.ehow.com/info_7894739_advantages-disadvantages-employee-selection-techniques.html Leigh, R., 2011, Challenges to employee selection. Retrieved on 25 February 2012 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-employee-selection-techniques-2543.html 2012-02-24 Susan, M., 2012, Top Ten Tips for Selecting and Hiring the Right Employee, Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From http://humanresources.about.com/od/recruiting/tp/recruiting_employee.htm Muller-Carmen, M, et al. 2008, Human Resource Management: A Case Study Approach, London: CIPD. Thomas, H, 2012, Understanding Personnel Management: Types of Selection Methods Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From http://www.explorehr.org/articles/Selection_+_Recruitment/Types_of_Selection_Methods.html Taylor, S, 2005, People Resourcing, London: CIPD Rowena O, 2011. What Is Employee Selection? Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From http://www.ehow.com/facts_6836122_employee-selection_.html Beardwell J, et al. 2010, Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach, (6th ed.), Harlow: Prentice Hall, chapter 5 Sign A, 2010, Employee selection assessment techniques, Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From www.iiml.ac.in/../140.pdf Schmidt D, 1998, Employee selection process, Retrieved on February 25, 2012 From www.therainmakergroupinc.com/servic... Read More