The Recruitment Selection Tools - Essay Example

On Recruitment Selection Tools: Use and Efficacy Introduction A company that repudiates to advance its recruitment process will waste money and timeif they employ unfit individuals for the critical job (Smith 2006, p.76). Selection and recruitment have both the same purpose; and that is to search out the qualified person in the right place and at the right time. It centers on being definite on the people that one intends to include in the team; the competencies being precisely sought; evaluating the characteristics and abilities of the person; identifying mainly the appropriate applicants; being certain that the individual meets the minimum specifications to perform the task effectively. Selection methods should be reliable and applicable. Here are different types of recruitment selection methods, along with a brief description of their efficacy as recruitment tools. Competency-Based Interview: This selection tool has a very comprehensive structure. McLaughlin (in Dayan et al 2008, pg.102) stated that the competency-based interview has a certain degree of rigidity that makes it very precise in matching the applicants skill sets with the prerequisites of the job. Ellen OMahony, Financial Directions manager, stated that the competency interview is definite when it comes to determining the adequacy of the qualifications appropriate for a specific post. A competency is depicted as the knowledge and skills essential to perform a job; however, individual attributes and attitudes do add up thus making attitudes a critical part of what needs to be assessed. Detailed job analysis is the foundation of a competency interview, leading to a list of job requirements (Dayan et al 2008, pg.102). Traditional personality tests: These tests are direct to the point, gauging the personality and preferences of the individual. For example, it measures whether the applicant is introverted or extroverted; authoritative or collaborative; a leader or a team player; touchy-feely or cold and so on. These tests help assess key personality traits of the person. To look for consistency, questions are asked repetitively (Taylor 2009, p.35). The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) is traditional personality test. It is a personality questionnaire that measures deeply rooted and potentially self-destructive predispositions that can be manifested by a person under stress. This questionnaire is extensively used in the UK and internationally across an array of sectors, including financial services, construction, government, IT, airlines, shipping and retail. The HDS emphasizes 11 proven characteristics that can disrupt leaders. These characteristics are each named after acceptable and unacceptable feature of each trait, including, for instance, confident-arrogant and enthusiastic-volatile. These tendencies can manifest negatively through times of pressure (when the stress gets to the person) or during moments of triumph (when the person is too excited). This is the reason why personality profiles are assessed in the process of recruiting: to recognize these probable conflicts before an applicant is employed. Identifying the prospective hazards associated with the potential hire can be detected through HDS, helping detect character fault lines that cannot be identified otherwise. According to Geoff Trickey, the managing director of PCL, no evaluation or selection tool is perfect, and the HDS is not without its flaws. The recruiter’s information and knowledge assists in making the prudent decision with the evidence gathered from the use of these psychometric tools. The HDS at the latter part of the recruitment process facilitates focus on areas that can be effectively explored during the interview and allow a discerning understanding of assessment centered observations. The HDS also permits valuable time for a prospective employer to go deeper into the applicant’s individual career history and to ascertain their impact to their previous companys bottomline (Johnson et al 2008, pg.631). Psychometric testing: Psychometric tests should be administered in the early stage of recruitment. These measure characteristics such as motivation, values, interpersonal skills and judgment. Psychometric testing is commendable as these provide an assessment of a wide array of personality traits and determine how the applicant would fit into the organization based on the outcomes. Psychometric tests describe whether the applicant is the type of person who requires a lot of time on his own, only intermittently convening together with a group to share ideas off each other. Educational qualifications should not only be the basis in hiring an employee and this is where most companies commit a common mistake. They should consider psychometric testing to arrive at sounder hiring decisions, and to avoid the unnecessary costs of bad hires. Methods such as job simulation are also being applied (Weisner 2009). As a component of the overall recruitment process, psychometric tests fall into two different types, aptitude tests and personality tests. Aptitude tests are created to examine the applicant’s skills for the job such as numeracy or logic. On the other hand, personality tests ascertain the applicant’s behavior and thoughts in detailed situations (James 2009). A combination of structured interview and psychometric testing is directed to improve recruitment decisions according to Weisner (2009). Over the last decade in Ireland, ability tests, personality questionnaires and online assessment tools have been growing in reputation. Psychometric testing reduces implicit presumptions about the personality of the person. These assessments are fast, reliable, applicable, virtually reduces biases in subjective hiring and it is demonstrably inexpensive than revenue costs associated with getting the inappropriate person (Weisner 2009, pg.259). Behavioral interviewing: This technique is one of the more novel and more effectual styles in interviewing job candidates. Work knowledge and behavioral competencies are the focal questions being covered under this technique. The Pareto principle, which is used in this type of interviewing, is adhered to, reinforcing the assessment of the critical few characteristics that are desired. An excellent combination of well-chosen behavioral aptitude questions can lead to a STAR aspirant. The STAR aspirant, in terms of behavioral interviewing, can be established by the responses to open-ended questions that fall into groupings that make up the STAR acronym, and these are situations/tasks, action, and results. The position level, specific job tasks and customs of the organization will state how in-depth the query should be. It is like using problem solving method to determine each behavior. The applicant with the highest overall score will thus be chosen. In the late 1970s, this type of interviewing started when industrial psychologists considered the traditional interview’s effectiveness as questionable, and concluded that these were not very efficient in determining candidates skills to do the work (Stimac 1997). The questions of the conventional interview were frequently hypothetical or theoretical and job applicants often ended up telling hypothetical answers that seemed good but were inaccurate representations of what they can do in actual situations. The behavioral interviewing process accentuates the efficient use of open-ended and job-related questions to facilitate the measurement of the candidates skills for a particular work. The interviewer is expected to use all information available when creating a selection decision and not rely on intuition, perceptions and feelings. This process should result in significantly lesser turnover and quality performance from newly hired employees (Holman 2005). Empirical research suggests that the most efficient and effective way to screen the right applicant is by performing a structured and behavior-based interview intended to probe about behaviors of the applicant in the past. There may be a fewer distortions in the responses of the applicant when asked for specific examples of past experiences and behaviors. With this, the interviewer must be knowledgeable enough to determine the applicant’s true potential. It is a fact that job candidates do not always feel at ease with the interview which has to do with behavior simply because it requires them to disclose information that is possibly self-incriminating (Angott & Small 2000). Today as employment eases, companies are taking on a new outlook on recruiting personnel. The immediacy of hiring and the cutthroat competition for key talent has sometimes caused companies to hire candidates immediately, even without the proper assessment tools (Bracken 2007). The stress on interviewers to employ the right candidate can become intense, which may possibly lead unnecessary costs and undue pressure for both the interviewer and the applicant. To recruit employees, employers are always on the look out for recruiting talent using the fastest, easiest, and the most cost-effective methods that are also as foolproof as possible. In order to do this, most employers rely on interviews. However, it interviews may be strongly subjective if not carried out with skill (James 2009). One-to-one recruitment interview: A one-on-one interview is one where the applicant is asked questions by either the company owner (in the case of a smaller business), department manager or manager of the human resources department. Most of the questions are related to the applicant’s resume, which the applicant had forwarded to the prospective employer beforehand as part of the pre-interview process of selection. Interviewers vary in the way they carry out an interview. Some use a formal interview style. Others choose a casual style that is more informal where the applicant is expected to be welcomed into an office, introduced to the interviewer, and offered tea or coffee. In the casual style of interview, there are small talks where the interviewer asks the applicant about job-related issues. The applicant should not expect to hear whether he or she got the job or not at the end of the procedure, but should anticipate being informed about how and when he or she will be notified (James 2009). Panel interview: The panel interview is somewhat similar to the one-to-one interview in terms of format except that the candidate is welcomed and asked by more than one person. The interviewers could be as many as six people on the group and they might not all take part in the question and answer conference. It is intimidating to be interviewed by a group of people; however, it is done usually for the benefit of the applicant to assure him or her of an objective and fair selection process (James 2009). Hi-tech interview: This is a type of interview done long-distance either via video-conferencing or over the telephone. Some interviewers use a webcam to conduct the selection process over the internet and others could be asked to go into a local branch to interview over the internet. The applicant may also be called into a local branch to use the local telephone or video-conferencing facilities. This type of interviewing is now becoming widespread but not often as standalone. This is usually prepared as part of the pre-selection process and will commonly still involve subsequent face-to-face interviews (James 2009). Assessment centers: There are companies that assess their candidates through assessment centers usually carried out by an external company, which has been employed by the company. This is usually done in the actual assessment center, hotel or even in the company’s own property. These assessment centers specialize in recruiting and assessing candidates on behalf of companies that outsourced their recruitment work. The assessment centers will carry out the company’s interview; and escalate their verdicts back to the company. The assessment center’s main objective is to assess applicant’s abilities and skills for a job by trying them out rather than basing their assessment on verbal or written evidence. With the simulations conducted by the assessment centers, the applicant should anticipate role plays, leadership tasks or team building (James 2009). Recruitment agencies: Applying for work through a recruitment agency entails the candidate to have an interview with the agency, who will take the first step as a selection filter before advising the candidate to go to the mother company who is seeking a candidate for a particular post. Recruitment agencies get as many applicants as possible for the recruiting company to choose from, according to their minimum requirements and specifications (James 2009). Strategic Interviewing: Authors like Camp, Vielhaber and Simonetti state that managers need to ascertain the effectiveness of their interviewing techniques and implement a new approach. These authors have formulated a strategic interviewing method intended to help employers evaluate the skills of candidates more dependably and to employ people most likely to act at high levels consistently (Bielski 2007). An international consultant, Simonetti and two faculties at Eastern Michigan University, Camp and Vielhaber, say that most managers do not understand that their screening techniques are inefficient. The problem partly relies on same traditional approach and question like "What is your strength or weakness?" or "Where do you want to be five years from now?" Since most of these questions have become so common, applicants tend to always give insincere answers. In addition, interviewers are not able to supply candidates with knowledge of the positions they are applying for and to address and clarify their expectations regarding the job (Bielski 2007, p. 30). They further state that a strategic interviewing style relies on a systematic and research-based method for selecting employees. The following are their strategic interviewing system components: Creating reasonable goals; vividly defining performance anticipations; developing questions that forecast the candidates ability to follow those expectations; choosing the answers that are right for the job before one asks questions; carrying out the interview in a way that permits precise measurement of responses; and using behavioral decision making to look at the candidates likelihood for success. It may be difficult to have applicants cite behavioral incidents right away, since they may not be familiar with behavior-based interviewing (Bielski 2007). Data-based interviewing: This is a technique that uses the characteristics or attributes that are needed for exceptional performance. Candidates are then assessed against those characteristics. This technique is designed to identify behaviors that characterize capability in specific work. Data-based interviews involve actual behavioral and factual data about interviewees, as differentiated from the traditional interview, where generalities or assumptions are common. Data-based interviewing has several advantages for companies or organizations, one of which is methodology consistency. Companies using data-based interviewing enhance conformity with EEO guidelines in terms of hiring procedures since the same set of criteria are applied to all candidates. All prospective employees are asked the same questions, and all those questions are centered on work performance (Cohn 1997). Moreover, data-based interviewing leads the decision-making process away from assumptions and "gut reactions" and onto specific behavioral data. Data-based interviewing is predicated on the truth that people have the greatest recollection of their actions in emotionally significant circumstances. In the context of the job, such conditions generally include something that presents a great deal of contentment, or conversely, circumstances that are exasperating or disappointing. Data-based interviewing is designed to acquire information more profound than peoples surface recollection or detailed key events. When an interviewee recognizes an important incident, he or she explores it to bring out all linked behavior and feelings the interviewee can recall. A small collection of questions is necessary and the most typical are the following: “What did you do?”, “What did you say?”, “What did you think?”, “What did you feel?”, “What did you see?”, “What happened next?”. Data-based interviewing is used to produce a proficiency model of the competencies and behaviors of the best performers, allowing them to actually achieve what makes them winners. (Cohn 1997, p. 57). Conclusion Indeed, enterprises need selection tools that will provide them with a cost effective and effectual way of getting key talent onboard. These will eventually facilitate the matching of individuals to jobs, ultimately contributing to the betterment of the organization. Thus far, behavioral interviewing seems to provide the most promising alternative from among other interviewing techniques as this accentuates the proficient use of open-ended and job-related questions for assessment of the candidates skills for a particular job. The interviewer is expected to use all information available when making a selection decision and not relying on intuition, perceptions and feelings. This process should ultimately lead to reduced turnover and quality performance from newly hired employees. References Bielski, L. (2007). Getting to "yes" with the right candidates. American Bankers Association. ABA Banking Journal, 99(3), 30. Bracken, D. (2007), Recruiting, interviewing, selecting & orienting new employees (4th edition). Personnel Psychology, 60(4), 1074. Cohn, J.(1997). Management review. New York, 57. Dayan, K. & Fox, S. (2008). The preliminary employment interview as a predictor of assessment center outcomes. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 16(2), 102. Holman, S. (2005). Assessment methods in recruitment selection & performance: A managers guide to psychometric testing, interviews and assessment centres. Training Journal, (2), 55. James, J. (2009). Youre hired! : Interviews tips and techniques for a brilliant interview. . Richmond: Richmond, 9-19. Johnson, A. & Winter, P. (2008). Managerial recruitment: The influence of personality and ideal candidate characteristics. The Journal of Management Development, 27(6), 631. Smith, G. (2006). Recruit and retain. Rock Products, 109(7), 26. Weekley, J. & Gier, J. (1987). Reliability and validity of the situational interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72(3), 484. Wiesner, W. (2009). Experiencing recruitment and selection. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 26(3), 259-260. Read More