The Merits of Selection by Interview - Essay Example

How far do the merits of selection by interview explain the fact that it is the most widely used method of selection? Organizations have devised waysto effectively manage their incoming employees as well as form a proper agenda as to how they would feel at ease with the new environment that is going to be offered to them. This atmosphere will make them feel homely towards the office place as well as hold them in nice stead with the different employees who are already working within the domains of the organization. Also a sense of empathy seems to exist in the best organizations around the world since they think both from the organizational perspective as well as from the side of the employees who are going to give in their best and thus benefit the organization in the long run, not to forget do themselves a favor in terms of their future growth and exposure levels. However all this is easier said than done since the problems do arise from time to time and it is significant that both the organization and the employee understand that they have to co-exist for the betterment of each other. No one of these two entities could exist in vacuum and thus it is of paramount importance to understand the very same. The end result would be in terms of success both for the organization as well as the employees who are very much a part of his organization itself. Then there is the aspect of interventions which crop up every now and then and which in essence mar the real motive of hiring the best possible candidates for the job. These include references from people who are in close association with the management who are there to make decisions but end up hiring their own acquaintances and relatives. This brings a bad name to the organization and also creates a sense of animosity within the employees since they think that the relatives could have their own say by using their relationships to full effects. To this day, interviewing has remained as the cornerstone of achieving the best results envisaged when it comes to recruiting and selecting individuals best suited towards a particular job, task or duty. This is due to its very direct manner of putting the interviewer and the interviewee in close association with each other. They have an eye ball to eye ball connection where the interviewer easily gauges the amount of confidence that the interviewee possesses within him and how he copes up with the pressure of giving an interview as well. It costs thousands of dollars to hire and train employees. How do managers attract top talent that supports the corporate culture? How do they keep these employees engaged? After investing in this talent, how can managers keep them from taking all that training and moving on to another company? Greengard and Byham (2003) suggest hiring for ‘attitude’. While resumes present degrees, experience and skills, “they’re only part of the overall picture” (p. 56). The Women & Infant’s Hospital seeks employees who are compassionate, diplomatic, energetic and confident, and Southwest Airlines looks for energy, humor, team spirit, a strong work ethic and self-confidence. These companies do not discover these characteristics on a resume, so they employ “behavior-based interviews and in-depth analysis of candidates” (p. 56). Southwest gathers a group of job candidates in a room and observes how they interact. They ask them questions that will reveal personality traits. Similarly, of late offices have been filled by women who were reckoned by the authorities as being less efficient as compared to their male counterparts a few years back. This has changed for the better and more and more companies in the world of today are recruiting female candidates for suitable positions within their staff. Apart from this positive change in mindset of the companies and businesses, there have been some pretty negative points attached to the same notion moreover. (Gregory, 2003) One such positive that has happened within any workplace is that women and minorities have started to get recruited in big numbers and one should believe that this is a major aspect that must be appreciated endlessly. In the present day workplace situation, white men have encouraged the selection of white women as well as minority group members but there is a totally different posture when the selection of black community staffing within these companies starts making waves. This must be discouraged within the companies if a fair and impartial selection policy has to be devised – one that is evenhanded for both the sexes and bears no prejudices for a particular black or white community or nationality, for that matter. Lately, there has been noticed a number of problems for women working in the workplaces which have really distracted the potential array of the females in the job openings and ultimately their process of recruitment. Companies must encourage mixed communities to interact and collaborate with each other as well as bolster the selection of deserving (on merit-basis) women. so that all of them in their own particular areas of output give their best and eventually produce the required results and pre-determined targets for the company or the business in unison. The women of 1980’s had a different struggle to which they tried to adhere to and give in their premium at the best of times but with the changing attitudes of people as well as a new world order without procrastination, these women rights have somewhat deteriorated and touched their lowest ebb. It may be mentioned here that the aspect concerned with recruitment of female staff within the already present setup of a company has slightly changed, in the positive direction but the attitudes that the people posses as well as their behavior to this sex have not improved a bit. (Atkinson, 1997) Interviewing has by far been one of the major success factors in recruiting and selection regimes in the modern day organizations. The reason it is hailed as a success lies in its results. The interviewer gauges the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate in a very open and direct manner. He finds out whether or not a candidate will be able to live up to the expectations of his bosses, the organizational norms and routines as well as any other reservations that the company has from the beginning. At times it becomes crystal clear within interviews that the candidates are not able to come out properly in terms of their replies and hence the interviewer decides it instantly whether or not to hire such an individual. However what should be understood is the fact that interviewing asks an interviewee to be nervous and thus the interviewer should give him some leeway as per the results of the interview. (Rothwell, 2005) The nerve wrecking experience could turn into a pleasant one if the candidate understands that both he and his potential employer are human beings and that they understand each other’s emotions. It is only natural to think that way and having said that the interview process must become an easy ride, flowing with confidence from all angles and thus the result would be one of a successful one and nothing else. As Torrington, Hall and Taylor (2005) suggest that the strategic aspects of human resourcing are pertinent towards the basis of the organizational undertakings. What this means is that long term planning mechanisms are considered elementary when it comes to selecting individuals who will give their very best towards the smooth functioning of the business and indeed the organization. Interview is just one significant mechanism of this human resourcing discussion. The long term implications of interviewing in a proper and adequate manner would reap rich dividends for the organization under question since the potential candidates would know beforehand that they are linking themselves with the best in the business when it comes to recruitment and selection and there would be no problems as far as a direct answer is concerned in the wake of rejection of a candidate or when an organization decides to hire an individual who holds absolutely no ground in the wake of the strong competition posed by the candidates. The selection methods are immense yet as Torrington, Hall and Taylor (2005) suggest interviewing is one of the significant ones which makes a difference as it puts the black and white in perspective and the gray areas are cut all the same. This indeed is a pertinent aspect to understand and more so in the times much like today where organizations are depending a great deal on the results of interviews and hence moving along in a very direct manner towards this approach. The duties of the HRM department are spread across a number of fields and avenues. The need is to realize that the HRM department does its best to carry out these tasks in a proactive manner since it demands a lot of time, patience and empathy to come on board with the feelings, sentiments, grievances and motivation levels of the employees and workers. Recruiting the right mix of people is the first and foremost task of any organization and this it needs to do with an eye to recognize talent and skill which comes to the interview table. Then again having interviews and the whole selection process could be marred with references from the top management and which need to be discarded off since the HRM unit has the responsibility to select and recruit the people who are deserving of the required posts. No favors at any cost should be entertained since this destroys the workplace culture and creates animosity amongst employees when they get recruited in such a manner. There is a lot of ‘excess baggage’ when it comes to these employees and they are always looked down upon with an eye of skepticism when it comes to delivery of tasks and work procedures. There must be a balance between the good and the bad in such a dictum and thus the need is to have a sound comprehension as to what exactly is the method behind selecting and hiring the right kind of individuals at the workplace. Providing equal opportunities is another aspect that comes under the auspices of the HRM which it has to take care of under strenuous guidelines. In fact it needs to establish such policies which order the compliance with the equality within the opportunities (both job wise and salary) and gender, race or age differences must not be entertained at any cost. Tyson and York (2000) have discussed the numerous developments that have taken place within the organizational regimes yet these developments have somehow or the other posed problems for the top management in more ways than one. However according to Tyson and York (2000), knowledge management is a pertinent development that has helped shape up the skills and techniques of the people who are related with the management duties and in more pinpointed terms – the manager himself. From an employee perspective, getting recruited in an organization is a strenuous exercise right from the very beginning. There are different pressures which exist as well as come along at the different levels which hold sheer significance in the whole context of things. Selection and the eventual recruitment for a job demands on the employee’s part to exhibit the best of his skills, abilities and to showcase his talent through the best of his mannerisms when it matters most – at the times of interviews and focus group meetings. This makes the candidate under question skeptical to confusions and doubts since he has to give in his best at all times without ever falling back on one count or the other. Employees are therefore asked to demonstrate the strengths and are thus judged on this aspect alone. The weaknesses are kept hidden by the employees so that they could not be judged on this tenet but the employers are on their very best to ascertain the employee’s weaknesses so that they could play with the mind of the aspiring individual and thus find out his real strengths as well as the grey areas. This is so done because the employers want to know how much pressure the employees can take and how they withstand the pressure that is laid on to them. When an employee is an applicant, he has to make sure that he understands what is asked of him from the organizational standpoint. This could be in the wake of his filling the forms duly as well as adhering to all the required demands that the organization has put in front of him through the different forms and written papers. An applicant thus has to understand that the organization is not dependent on him for running their own business rather he is the one who has to join the ship and sail it along. What this will do is to benefit the organization as well as harness his skills and abilities even more, so much so that he gains experience from the relevant task or job and at the end of the day he is the one whose future growth is secured in the real sense of the word. Thus the role of the employee is of essence since he has to take the move from being a mere candidate to an employee in the frameworks of the said organizational settings. (Cappelli, 1999) The bottom line is that the organization and the employee both benefit from the bond that exists between them in the long run and it is more of a symbiotic relationship than anything else. Now coming to the quarters of the organizational perspective, one finds that the organization is always on the hunt to track down the best individuals for their work practices and thus they are finding those individuals who could deliver under pressure and that too with a sense of ease and efficiency. In the end, it would be fitting to state that no matter what recruitment and selection methodology is made use of within the organizational realms, it is significant to understand that interviews do deliver the goods when it is really needed. This is because the process has a very transparent and see-through ability of finding the good and the bad points related with the potential employees who are mere candidates on the other side of the table for the interviewing authority. Hiring qualified individuals is a pre-requisite for any organization in the time and age of today, more so when there is a dearth of talent within the industrial domains. To choose a capable employee is any organization’s dream come true and to make it happen, an organization must be ready to have change mechanism in place within its system. All said and done, it is up to the organization under question to decipher how best it can live up to the needs of its different departments and processes by hiring employees who are not only apt but also skillful and this indeed is gauged through the interviewing tool. Bibliography ATKINSON, Camille. (1997). Women, Ethics and the Workplace. Praeger CAPPELLI, Peter. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxford University Press GREGORY, Raymond F. (2003). Women and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality. Rutgers University Press ROTHWELL, William J. (2005). Career Planning and Succession Management: Developing Your Organization’s Talent for Today and Tomorrow. Praeger TORRINGTON, Derek, HALL, L. & TAYLOR, S. (2005). Human Resource Management, 6th Edition, London: FT TYSON, Shaun & YORK, Alfred. (2000). Essentials of HRM. Butterworth-Heinemann; 4th Edition Word Count: 2,515 Read More