Methods of Recruitment in Retail - Essay Example

METHODS OF RECRUITMENT There are numerous ways in which we can find employees to fill our job vacancy. However, if we use the wrong type of media, wecan end up spending a lot of time re-advertising, re-interviewing or employing the wrong person. This wastes business time and money. Before analyzing different ways of employee searching lets define firmly the objective of the survey. So it is necessary to interview businesses employing high-demand occupations to determine: What skills the workforce is lacking? What employers feel the reasons are for the gaps in their workforce? What training requirements are not being met? What skills and employee attributes are needed by businesses? The most important are: Interpersonal Skills: Work Ethics Customer Service Communication Teamwork Job Specific Skills Problem Solving Skills Knowledge of business/industry Basic skills (reading, writing, math) Computer Skills Before inviting the candidates we are to collect lots of data to make an opportunity of choosing the most suitable. The data can be gathered in a different ways: Mass mailing to a list of businesses created from the database Face-to-face visitation Online survey participation Now it is time to look at the main recruitment methods, used all over the world in spite of job kind or desired employee peculiarities. So they are: Employee Referrals Walk-ins Newspapers Internet Job Search Engines Temporary Agencies EDD Now we’ll try to analyze some of them in detail. Recruitment agencies. These companies specialize wholly in recruitment and generally keep an up-to-date database of experience potential employees. They take the time out of advertising, interviewing and selecting candidates, and can hand us a ready-made employee to fit our job specification. They offer part and full-time candidates. If a specialist candidates is required, a job agency has the expertise to attract the right person; many also agencies specialize in the candidates they attract e.g. accountancy, haulage. Agencies take the worry out of the employment headache, and for the small business this can save a lot of time. But, unfortunately, they are unable to gauge the exact needs of each individual company. As the agency interviews all candidates, they cannot detect subtle personality requirements, which would help the candidate settle in. If the candidate is found to be unsuitable, this means more lost time. Finally, agencies also charge a fee; so if we are going to use an agency, check their fees, as they could prove quite expensive. However, many of the candidates may have been unemployed for some time and this would mean that their skills might now be outdated. Job Centre Many Job Centres offer recruitment services for companies who use them to recruit. For example, many will offer a room to interview potential candidates; others will help to draw up a short list based on our job specification. Above all, this service is free. Needless to say, this will save a small business quite a lot of time and money when recruiting. Newspaper or Specialist Magazine This is an effective method as it reaches a large audience in a short space of time, often resulting in a significant amount of interest. We can also target an area or specialist profession, as there are a multitude of magazines and newspapers on offer to choose from. However, we may find that the more specialized or selective we become, the more we have to pay to the advertisement, so it can work out quite expensive. Additionally, if we want to attract the right candidate, we need to have some publishing skills to produce an attractive advertisement. We can of course use a specialist publishing company to design the right ad, but this will again cost us money. If we wish to attract the right type of employees then we have to be bold about what we intend to offer. Here are a few tips which might help us to plan an effective job advertisement: 1. Attention attracting We are to put the advert in a newspaper, magazine or journal that is read by the sort of person we want to attract; produce as large an advert as we can afford; make it eye catching. 2. Interest creating We are to describe the company and what is interesting about it; describe the sort of person we are looking for and the qualifications and experience wanted; describe the job and all it involves. 3. Benefits and Incentives offering We have to state salary bonuses, commission, paid; mention any fringe benefits (car, insurance themes, pensions); outline prospects for promotion; describe if there is any training given. 4. Get Action We have to state how to apply and who to apply to and the closing date for application. It comes in handy to make an example of job advertisement here. As we are managing people in retail, an ad will be something like that: Looking for Eastern Europe Sales Executive Our company is a modern fast growing young retail business. We have a wide net of hypermarkets. We have many branches of our business worldwide and have built up a good reputation within our field of trade. We are looking for a dynamic, confident person who is willing to travel and work on is/her own behalf. You will need excellent communication skills and diplomatic views and be able to project yourself clearly and politely in a positive manor. You must have been in an executive sales position previously and have had at least 10 years selling experience. Preferably in retail sales. The job involves extensive travel to Eastern Europe with sales meeting to be held every 2 months. Salary is $45,000 per annum. JAR, BUPA, PENSION SCHEMES, HOLIDAY ALLOWANCES. Training will be given. Apply in writing to ................................... Closing date ................................... Another method is asking people you know or taking on family members. If we really are on a type budget, we may consider asking around. Asking people we trust or people who may be in the same trade as we are. This obviously takes the cost element out of the process; however, it may cause a lot of upset or embarrassment should we have to dismiss. Secondly, we may find it extremely uncomfortably to delegate tasks or discipline the new employee, particularly if we have decided to take on a member of our family. One of the cheapest methods of recruiting is a survey among graduates or even final-year student. Of course, these employees have no work experience, but they have a good theoretical store of knowledge and high level of enthusiasm. Besides, this is a very cheap workforce. Now some words about the graduate recruitment scene in the UK. There are two main ways of entering the UK graduate labor market if you possess the necessary right to work permanently in the UK: graduate training schemes - usually one to two years in length; direct entry - immediate start after graduation. Graduate training schemes Many jobs for new graduates involve training schemes of, generally, between one and two years. Some of these schemes offer a graduate the opportunity to experience several different areas of a business before choosing a final career path. Normally, employers’ websites and/or recruitment brochures give details of their scheme. It is quite common for graduates to enter graduate training schemes for jobs unrelated to their degree subject. This is particularly true in accountancy, banking or insurance. These training schemes can involve quite rigorous private study in graduate’s spare time, with demanding professional examinations. To become fully qualified in some jobs, such as accountancy, passing exams is only part of the requirement. Appropriate practical experience is also necessary. The detailed requirements vary from profession to profession. To find out about a particular profession, graduate has to go to Explore types of jobs. In other kinds of jobs, where professional qualifications are not generally required (e.g. information technology and retail), graduates with non-relevant degrees will follow a less academic training route. Competence in the job is more immediate and they will be assessed by their performance. Direct entry In some jobs, particularly in the fields of science and technology, graduates are able to start real work using specialist degree knowledge immediately upon graduating. There is usually on-the-job training, which is essential if they are to qualify with the appropriate professional body, e.g. as a chartered engineer. An increasing number of graduates find employment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Direct entry, rather than a formal graduate training program, is more likely to be the method used. Let’s try to analyze recruitment process for this category of candidates. Recruitment by a major employer is usually a three-stage process. Stage one is to submit a written application (usually an application form or a CV and covering letter) in response to an advertisement. An increasing number of employers ask a candidate to complete an online application form and/or send his CV and covering letter as attachments to an e-mail. Stage two is a preliminary interview, which might be conducted over the telephone. Stage three is the final selection procedure, often called an ‘assessment centre’, which may involve a further interview(s) and/or a series of individual and group selection tests, following which you may be offered a job. Although graduate recruitment is spread throughout the year, there are peaks early in the academic year when recruiters visit campuses to give presentations and conduct preliminary interviews, and again in June, when a number of regional recruitment fairs are held. There are also a number of regional, web-based vacancy and advice sites that carry details of both graduate training schemes and direct entry jobs. Attitudes of employers to international students It is unwise to generalize about employer attitudes to international students since many factors are involved. Obtaining a work permit is time consuming and expensive for employers, so they are likely to apply for one only for outstanding candidates who have special talents to offer. However, employers who have a presence in employee’s home country may be prepared to obtain a Training and work experience scheme (TWES) training permit so that you can train in the UK before returning home. But what is the recruitment methods effectiveness? According to statistics only 53% of businesses surveyed indicated that methods of recruitment they are currently using provide an adequate applicant pool. The dissatisfaction may in part come from the recruitment methods being used. Many employers seem to rely on employee referrals and walk-ins. Unfortunately, only a small number of businesses use educational institutions for recruitment: College recruitment 12% High-school recruitment 5% Other training providers 4% And surely there are a good deal of barriers to finding and retaining qualified employees. They are: All industries: Poor work ethics Lack of job specific skills Language barrier with some immigrant workers Employee dissatisfaction with their work hours Employees leave for better pay or benefits Specific to Healthcare: Employees return to school to upgrade their skills Employees leave for better working conditions and may change industry (e.g. RN changing careers) Drawing a conclusion, it is necessary to emphasize: an experienced recruiter has to understand that different positions require different approaches. There are the traditional mediums, such as contingency or database searches, advertising in local and national press and various web sites. For more specialized roles we may choose Executive Search & Selection or advertise in a specific publication. Straight Forward Solutions is experienced in each of these approaches. We assign a dedicated consultant to manage a role who will not only be experienced but will have a demonstrable understanding of our local market place and will strive to gain a clear understanding of our requirements. From this point the consultant will outline how best to proceed and what measures are required to produce the results desired. This can include everything from advertising and retained assignments to contingency and database searches. Straight Forward Solutions will employ the most effective method of recruitment for employees. 1. Armstrong, M. (1995) “A Handbook of Personnel Management Practice”, 5th edn, London, Kogan Page. 2. Billsberry, J. (ed.) (1996) “The Effective Manager: Perspectives and Illustrations, London, Sage/The Open University”. 3. Billsberry, J. (2000) “Finding and Keeping the Right People”, 2nd edn, London, Prentice-Hall. 4. Browning, G. (1997) “Lastword: office polities”, Guardian Weekend, 19 July, p. 59. 5. Clutterbuck, D. 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