The Impact and Implications of Recruitment in Managing a Workforce Effectively - Assignment Example

?First and First and 4 July What is the impact and implications of recruitment in managing a workforce effectively?  When organizations recruit new staff, it is important for them to take into account a number of different factors. There are usually many potential candidates applying for one job, so it takes employers time to select the best candidate. Because of the competitive business environment today, organizations need to have the best workforce on their payroll (Azeta, Ikhu-Omoregbe, Ayo, and Atayero 96). Statistics show that today’s workforce is decreasing at alarming rates. Within the next ten years, labor shortfalls of up to 10 million workers are expected in the United States (Leibold and Voelpel 22). Because of a potentially smaller workforce, there will be challenges in recruiting qualified job seekers to fill vacant positions (Walker, Feild, Giles, and Bernerth 619). In order to attract the right person for the job, it is crucial to have key job expectations already in place so the applicant knows exactly what they are getting themselves into. If you need someone to carry out a series of jobs, then it is important to detail all this in the interview room. If the job instructions are not explained in-depth, then you will likely hire someone who only meets some of your expectations (Vielhaber and Camp 40). However, if a manager chooses to explain the job duties only during the interview, then the job hiring process can be slowed down as potential candidates may not be suitable for the job. This in turn costs the business through lost opportunities and additional recruiting costs. These failures can be seen from the very beginning—designing the job (Rao). The ideal time to define the job tasks that are required is before the applicant turns up for an interview. Then, the job seeker can query any confusing job requirements during the interview. This is otherwise known as a job description. Job descriptions usually contain the job title, reporting relationships, a summary of responsibilities, job span (budget and staff), primary accountabilities and responsibilities, decision-making authority, and hiring requirements (knowledge, skills, abilities, certifications, and degrees) (Stybel 105). To determine whether or not these responsibilities are carried out in an effective manner, performance standards need to be created. Performance standards indicate what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the job description (Mathis and Jackson 156). The reason that these performance standards are included is so employees can know what is expected of them. If they gain this knowledge beforehand, it is more likely that they will be able to perform the job to a high standard. A usual job description contains a number of components: identification, general summary, essential functions and duties, job specifications, and disclaimer and approvals (Mathis and Jackson 157). Identification is made up of the title of the job, who to report to, department, location, pay grade, and possible compensation. The general summary is a short description of the responsibilities and components specific to a particular job. Essential functions and duties are definitive statements on the major tasks, duties, and responsibilities that need to be performed. Job specifications are defined as knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), education and experience, and physical requirements and working conditions (Mathis and Jackson 157). Disclaimer and approvals contain signatures from the manager that allows employers to change employees’ job duties. Employers need to show that their employment procedures are related to the job requirements. To determine this, employers must conduct a job analysis to classify the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to be able to perform a job adequately (Mathis and Jackson 116). The three validation strategies that are used to measure this include content validity, criterion-related validity, and construct validity. Validity measures prospective employees on dimensions with direct relevance to job performance (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, and Uhl-Bien 139). Content validity is the use of a logical, non-statistical method to find the necessary KSAs to be able to perform a job (Ivancevich 219). This type of test is a sample of potential work that might be carried out on the job. An example of this would be for a job working in a warehouse. The job applicant would inevitably be tested for physical strength to see if he or she could cope with the physical demands of the job. If this test was not carried out prior to an applicant gaining a job, it could be that the person may not be able to handle certain aspects of the job. The result of this is that a great deal of money and time has been wasted for no reason at all. A job analysis must be conducted by the company to determine what KSAs are used within a certain job. From this information, managers, supervisors, and human resource specialists can develop a test to give to potential employees (Mathis and Jackson 116). These types of tests usually involve interviewing someone about their previous skills and abilities. Because of the high level of validity of these tests, content validity approaches are increasing all the time. The second validation strategy is known as criterion-related validity. This involves employment tests that predict how well someone will do in a job. The criterion-related validity test is the predictor, while the measures for job performance and KSAs are the criterion variables (Ivancevich 220). Predictors are found and used to compute the dimensions of the criterion-related variables. Some examples of these “tests” are graduating from high school, being able to multiply numbers together, and two years job experience. These variables are then matched against criteria that are used to measure job performance. If the predictors can forecast job performance behavior, then the “test” is passed. The best way to describe this is to think of two circles—predictor and criterion variable. The image to the right shows this concept in action. The more the two circles overlap, the better the predictor of job performance is. The degree of overlap is determined by a correlation coefficient, which is an index number that gives the relationship between a predictor and a criterion variable (Mathis and Jackson 117). The coefficient can range all the way from negative 1 to positive 1. A positive number that is close to 1 indicates that the test is a good predictor of job performance. On the other hand, a negative number shows that the test is a poor predictor. Finally, the last validation strategy is called construct validity, which shows a connection between an abstract trait and job performance. These traits have been given specific personality characteristic names: introversion, aggression, and dominance (Mathis and Jackson 118). These attributes are known as constructs. Other constructs that have known to be tested for include creativity, leadership potential, and interpersonal sensitivity. Because the majority of this test is hypothetical, construct validity is not used as regularly in employment recruiting as the other types of validity. Once an organization has decided how it will effectively screen potential candidates, it must evaluate if its methods are working correctly. The thing that will determine the effectiveness of a certain selection method is the utility of the selection process (Ivancevich 237). The utility refers to the degree to which the information provided by the selection method enhances the effectiveness of selecting personnel in an organization (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhert, and Wright 241). When employers consider the makeup of their business, it is important not to underestimate the value of diversity within the workplace. Rob Mclnness described this in Diversity World when he stated: It is clear that the greatest benefits of workforce diversity will be experienced not by the companies that have learned to employ people in spite of their differences, but by the companies that have learned to employ people because of them (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, and Uhl-Bien 45). From this viewpoint, we can define managing diversity as the process of creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright 326). There are many diverse types of employees based on diversity. The different factors include gender, race and ethnicity, age, disability, marital and family status, and sexual orientation (Mathis and Jackson 121). Diversity plays an important role in whether or not an employee will accept a job. If there are already employees of the same diverse group then it more likely that the prospective employee will feel more comfortable and will be able to express their opinion. Employers need to consider that a diverse workforce presents many more benefits than it does challenges. The downside is that it may be difficult to get a diverse workforce to work together towards one goal. Language, cultural, and religious factors may implement barriers between some members of the workforce. However, with enough planning and foresight, these factors can be evaded to a certain extent. If these challenges can be avoided, then there is the opportunity to thrive with a diverse workforce. This is because there can be more diverse thinking and problem solving achieved. The key to this is inclusion, which is the focus of an organization’s culture on welcoming and supporting all types and groups of people (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, Uhl-Bien 49). Any group that contains people from a wide variety of backgrounds can see more alternatives to the current problems at hand. Once all these ideas are incorporated, the best alternative can then be taken. To integrate employees from a number of different backgrounds, diversity training is important so everyone can better understand how other employees think and act. The main goal of diversity training is to improve acceptance and understanding of employees with different backgrounds, experiences, capabilities, and lifestyles (Mathis and Jackson 125). However, studies have failed to prove that diversity training methods can be effective. The reason for this is that diversity training is inclined to focusing on differences, and also creates more problems than it solves. Another possible reason is that the content is viewed as discriminatory toward majority individuals such as white males. For these reasons, it is best for employers who are trying to incorporate a wide range of employees into the workplace to create as little conflict as possible. Instead of organizing a meeting in the main office, it is better to take the employees out to play golf or have a barbecue at the employer’s house. These things help “break the ice” and can bring a workforce together through fun activities. In conclusion, we can say that the recruitment of new employees can affect how an organization is run. This makes the recruitment process vital because it can get the best candidates for the right job. The best way to do this is to provide a correct job description before applicants start applying. Once applicants are taken seriously, a number of different validity tests can be carried out to see how the new employee will fit into the organization. Once an applicant has been accepted, the key thing is to integrate them into the workforce. This can be done through diversity training to help the new employee work with a wide range of employees. Even though this process can be challenging, the benefits will outweigh the costs in the long term. Works Cited Azeta, A. A., N. A. Ikhu-Omoregbe, C. K. Ayo, and A. A. Atayero. “A Software Engineered Voice-Enabled Job Recruitment Portal System.” European Journal of Scientific Research; Jul. 2008, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p. 95-103. EBSCOhost. Web. 3 Jul. 2011. Ivancevich, John M. Human Resource Management. 10th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007. Print. Leibold, Marius, and Sven Voelpel. Managing the Aging Workforce: Challenges and Solutions. Germany: Publicis Corporate Publishing and Wiley-VCH-Verlag GmbH & Co KGaA, 2006. Print. Mathis, Robert L., and John H. Jackson. Human Resource Management. 10th ed. Singapore: South-Western, 2004. Print. Noe, Raymond A., John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, and Patrick M. Wright. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print. Rao, Hayagreeva. “Column: What 17th-Century Pirates Can Teach Us About Job Design.” The Harvard Business Review Magazine. Oct. 2010. Web. 3 Jul. 2011. Schermerhorn, John R. Jr., James G. Hunt, Richard N. Osborn, and Mary Uhl-Bien. Organizational Behavior. 11th ed. Asia: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Stybel, Laurence J. “Managing the Inner Contradictions of Job Descriptions: A Technique for Use in Recruitment.” Psychologist-Manager Journal; Apr-Jun. 2010, Vol. 13 Issue 2, p. 105-110. EBSCOhost. Web. 3 Jul. 2011. Vielhaber, Mary E., and Richaurd R. Camp. “Are You Ready for the Next Hiring Boom?” Insights to a Changing World Journal; Dec. 2010, Issue 4, p. 38-46. EBSCOhost. Web. 3 Jul. 2011. Walker, H. Jack, Hubert S. Field, William F. Giles, and Jeremy B. Bernerth. “The Interactive Effects of Job Advertisement Characteristics and Applicant Experience on Reactions to Recruitment Messages.” Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology; Dec. 2008, Vol. 81 Issue 4, p. 619-638. EBSCOhost. Web. 3 Jul. 2011. Read More