Recruitment and Induction of Staff - Essay Example

Submitted by: Recruitment, Selection and Induction 05.06.07 Recruitment, Section and Induction of Staff Task 1: Answers to questions 1 to 8: 1. Possible sources for 5 different categories of jobs: Though advertising is a commonly used method for any category, some other methods may be more suitable for different categories of jobs. Technical manager: Since this job involves a specialized knowledge and experience, advertising in Industrial magazines, or contracting specialized recruiting agencies can be a better choice. Production Supervisor: Internal promotion can be an effective and motivating source, and advertising in news papers is a suitable method for recruiting in this category. Assembly worker: employee referrals, vocational training institutes can be the right sources for this position. Accountant: classified advertisements are suitable sourcing channels for this job, as it comes in a general category which is common to most of the organizations irrespective of their area of operations Trainee HR : Campus interviews are most suitable for this category of jobs. 2. Information provided by application forms: The application forms gather information about the candidates' educational and work histories, as well as some personal information, and present it in a standardized way to the interviewers, so that they know where to look for key information without getting distracted. This method is favored by large organizations, as they find it easier to quickly process a large number of forms and also provide a basis of the appointees' personal records. 3. Application of Equal opportunity Laws: The equal opportunity approach seeks to influence recruitment and selection activities through legislation, so that discrimination in any form such as gender, racial and ethnic factors, diversity related issues and other factors, is prevented. Each individual, therefore has a 'level playing field' and a fair share in the job opportunity. 4. Features of different Advertising media: The following are the main features of various advertising media : Internal advertisement: It provides maximum information to all employees speedily at a low cost. In such cases, the induction periods are shorter. However, there is a possibility of unlawful indirect discrimination. Vacancy lists outside premises: This is the most economical way of advertising. The disadvantage is that it may be seen by a few candidates. It is not suitable for higher level or critical job positions. Advertising in National press: The advertisement reaches a large number of people and is generally viewed by applicants of particular job posts. The cost of such activity is high. Advertising in local press: The response from this case is largely from those seeking local employment. This medium is not preferred by technical or professional job seekers, But is more suitable for lower level positions as well as part time or full time contract workers. Advertising in technical press: This medium reaches a specific population with minimum wastage. It is suitable for certain specific job positions only, where a specialized skill or knowledge level is required. Internet: The reach of this medium is very wide and instant. The cost also may be minimal, if a website is constructed. It can also facilitate on-line short-listing, and provide a clear information about the organization. The disadvantage is that it can produce thousands of unsuitable applications 5. Forecast of occupational Requirement: The forecasting of the occupational requirement for some of the various job categories are listed below: Accountant: Nurse: Engineer: 6. Specialized Agencies for various job requirements: There are several advertising agencies, whose business is to provide recruitment services to employers and job seekers at a price. News papers such as 'The Sydney Morning Herald' also offer advertising space, where Field-wise categorization helps the readers to locate the positions of their interest. Different recruitment agencies specializing in specific fields are also providing services. Some of them are listed below as examples: The 'Integrated group limited' specializes in industrial and commercial labour force from a single staff member to full teams. 'Law Staff Australia Pty Ltd' Offers consolidated recruitment services for Legal positions. 'Challis Recruitment' specializes in sourcing various job positions in the field of medicine, from junior doctors to medical consultants. All the above agencies are developing, because of the need created by the expanding knowledge base and skill levels in almost all spheres of work. 7. Recruitment of diverse work force: HRM activities: In this world of fast changing market conditions, and the competitive environment, the human resource manager has to take proper note of the impending skill and labor shortages. He has to be on the constant lookout of diverse and alternate talent pool, and also manage this diversity appropriately, so that employee potential is utilized to maximum advantage. He has to take steps to change the organization culture which will support the culture of diversity, without disturbing the directives of equal opportunity. 8. Policy development regarding diverse workforce recruitment: A policy regarding diverse workforce has to be developed which will not negate, but complement the Equal employment policy. This will not only give the organization better returns due to advantages of best talent presented by the diverse recruitment policy, without attracting legal hurdles. Task 2: Case study: The ideal staffing Officer at AutoAccess. 1.Assessment of the current situation: The HR manager, Ms Rhonda seems to have adopted an unprofessional approach, in casually suggesting the name of Ms Georgia Banks for the post of Staffing Officer at AutoAccess. This was done with a vague notional assumption, that a person with a successful recruitment record at a call center would automatically ensure a similar performance at AutoAccess. There is no evidence that established recruitment and selection procedures were followed, regarding determination of requirements for various job positions, and developing proper selection procedures in order to recruit people with matching capabilities. Emphasis was given only to the number of people to be recruited within a given time-frame. The result was that, in spite of being smart and nice individuals, as observed by some experienced supervisors of the company, these new recruits proved to be misfits for their job positions in the organization. In the current situation, the company will have to, once again, not only invest its time and money in hiring activity, but also deal with the moral and legal aspects of terminating the services of existing recruits. Therefore the person in-charge of recruiting must be aware and trained in the current principles of recruitment Recommended Actions: The following sequence of action is likely to produce much better results, and should be followed for each category of job positions required to be filled up. Defining the job requirements: This step needs to be done in consultation with the manager or supervisor of the work area concerned, so that an accurate description of the actual requirement of the job is obtained. The following points outlining the purpose of the job are to be considered: Key duties: Ideally, this will contain five or six headings with a statement of main components and areas of responsibility. Main relationships: This will include the position to which the job holder will report, any staff that will report to the job holder, and any other relationship, which is specific to the organization structure. Main objectives: This will contain the current objectives and targets, as well as those to be attained over a period of, say, one year. Defining the best suited person: This aspect should be defined with a focus on the standard of performance, within the working environment of the organization. Care must be taken to avoid too much detailing, and should focus on the overall personality, so that constructive feedback, like training needs etc can be obtained. The main features to be considered are: Ability: This heading deals with the skills necessary to carry out the tasks included in the job description. Attainment: This heading looks for the learning required for effective performance, in the form of formal qualification. Alternatively, it may be completion of certain milestones. Achievement: This heading looks at the track record of the past performance in the area of the job requirement. Aptitude: This refers to the personal abilities and preferences. For example, if it is required to modify certain working practices in future, a willingness and capability to explore innovative solutions as a member of a team would be necessary. Attracting talent: Various methods of scouting have to be researched, like news-paper advertising, internet advertising, internal scouting within the organization, contacting recruitment agencies etc. Suitable methods can be selected depending on the positions to be filled up. Assessment and selection: This will require development of assessment plans such as interviews and personality tests, as well as formation of assessment teams, which will involve experts or managers from the concerned departments. Bench-marks for measurement of performance in the tests should also be pre-determined. Induction training and employee retention: Once the suitable staff is recruited, it is the duty of the employer to arrange a proper induction program. The new staff have to orient themselves with the organization environment and culture, their job responsibilities and the objectives of the organization. If the employees are made comfortable in their positions, with a clear understanding of what is expected from them, it affects their performance and motivation positively, and they are more likely to remain committed and productive. 2. Identification of appropriate recruiting sources: The appropriateness of the recruitment sources depends on the job position to be filled up. For the highly qualified positions, it is beneficial to have a recruiting team which has a good understanding of the requirements as well as a good assessment capability. A fair Knowledge about current trends in the competitive market is also desired. All these capabilities are beyond the scope of small and medium enterprises. This has led to the rise of specialist recruitment agencies, whose job is to develop the infrastructure purely for recruitment purposes, in specific fields. Even large organizations find this alternative efficient and cost effective. In the present case, the recruiting of the staffing officer could have been based on knowledge about the auto industry in general, the problems associated with this type of industry, the state of the art methods of recruitment, and recruiting methods employed by the competitors. He/she would then have been in a better position to specify the selection criteria matching the actual requirement, and also the best sources of recruitment. 3. Matching the staff capabilities with the job requirement: The present case presents an example of mismatch in two areas. The first one is for the position of staff recruiter. This person has a past experience of recruiting people for the call center, where the main requirement of the job is to communicate verbally and effectively with the clients and solving their problems based on standardized responses. There is no evidence that the recruiter is conversant with the job requirements of the present case, as well as the scientific recruitment processes. Therefore she is a mismatch to the job she is holding. As a result , the recruited staff is also not found to be selected according to the job criteria, and do not match with the requirements of the position. Even if they are talented individuals, the current situation does not serve the employer or the employees. Task 3: Case study: Merino Textiles - A Challenging situation for the HRM Argument for convincing Brian: Our new management is investing a huge amount of funds in the manufacture of blankets. Naturally it would like to see that we achieve the planned targets within a short time, after installing the new machinery. With your wide experience through all the stages of the organization, you will agree that increasing the production levels by three times is not going to be an easy task. The fact that a large percentage of the staff, which we require according to our projections, is going to consist of newly appointed people. We would therefore require these new recruits to blend well with our current environment. This will happen, only if they are psychologically inclined to work as a team. Apart from this, it will be natural to expect that some problems will crop up during expansion of our delivering capacities, and we would like the new recruits to react to these situations in a positive way. For realizing this situation, we will have to ensure that the new staff possess the desired qualities, apart from their skills required for the job. It is therefore necessary to assess these candidates not only regarding job criteria, but also regarding their psychological make up. It is therefore necessary to test the candidates not only regarding their job skills, but also by other methods .This will eventually save us considerable time and effort, as well as legal difficulties in case we need to terminate some of the misfit employees. Designing the interview plan for the two posts: In case of the HR Graduate, we will have to plan the interview questions which will reflect his knowledge about recruitment procedures as well as his capabilities in handling sticky situations. We may also have to include an HR expert in the interviewer team. Regarding the post of operator in the manufacturing section, the operating skills have to be ascertained, along with the personality tests. Selection techniques for the two posts: Task 4: Answers to 8 selected questions: Reliability and Validity (Q1) Reliability refers to the degree to which a test is consistent and stable in measuring what it is intended to measure, whereas Validity refers to the degree to which the test actually measures what it claims to measure, Both are psychometric properties of the test. The difference is that a test can be termed as reliable even if it is not valid, and reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. Validating a test (Q2) Validity is also the extent to which inferences, conclusions and decisions made on the basis of the tests are meaningful and appropriate. There are various ways of measuring how well the test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring: Content validity adequately samples the knowledge or skill content and is assessed by a team of experts. Criterion- related validity compares a test to some criterion, which itself can be another test, and finds the correlation between these two tests. This method is mostly used to predict future performance by the managers. Services of a certified Psychologist (Q4) The psychological tests are usually constructed from language, and not from physical dimensions. Therefore, they are open to multiple interpretations, which makes it necessary that it is tested by trained psychologists for arriving at proper conclusions. Classification of Interviews (Q11) The classification of the interviews is done on the basis of their intended output, as follows: The Job related Interview deals with the knowledge and skill level of the applicant related to the position applied for. The Situational Interview The behavioral interview The psychological interview Advantages of structured interviews (Q15) Common interviewing mistakes (Q16) Induction program for Customer Service Officer (Q20) Induction is a process, not an event. It must be viewed as a part of, and in conjunction with, the entire employer-employee work-life cycle. For the employee, it is becoming alive to and absorbing the organization culture, getting enthused by its goals, and being encouraged to believe in the difference that they can make. Therefore, the induction plan for a Customer Service Officer must contain the above mentioned features as well as all the activities related to customer satisfaction. He must be properly educated about the current service team, the coordination process followed, the delegation of authority, and knowledge about the positive and negative features of the product. The induction process should also include detailing of customers' past records and past history of the service activities. Benefits of a well designed Orientation plan (Q21) All newly hired staff normally attend the Orientation program on the first day. At this moment, the employee, as well as the employer, are in a very pleasant state of mind. A well designed orientation program will help in carrying forward this positive attitude and enthusiasm, by allowing the employee to find his way around the organization, meet with the staff and management, and prepare him psychologically, to become part of the 'family'. References Dale, Margaret, The essential guide to recruitment, London, Kogan Page, 2006 Torrington, Derek, Hall, Laura, Taylor, Stephen, Human Resource Management, 5th Edition, Essex, England, Pearson Education Ltd.2002 Reed, Alec, Innovation in Human Resource management, CIPD, London,2001 www.ssabsa.sa.edu.au/docs/policy/select-manual.pdf .for selection pdf file Australian scondary Read More