Recruitment and selection

Introduction

HRP helps to develop plans for matching demand with supply. Such plans include recruitment and selection. If managers are not careful in developing the best strategies for recruiting and selecting staff, it is likely that the organisation will fail to perform because the available jobs are being carried out by the wrong people and whose removal would be costly. At the end of the chapter learners should be able to:

· Develop appropriate job descriptions and specifications for specific jobs,

· Develop an appropriate strategy for recruitment and selection,

· Conduct effective employment interviews, and

· Establish an effective induction programme.

The basis for recruitment and selection

Recruitment and selection is the process of getting human resources into organisations’ departments, sections and jobs (McKenna & Beach 2008). Venkatesh & Jyothi (2009: 83) use what might be an even more useful definition of recruitment that is about the art of discovering and procuring potential applicants for actual and anticipated vacancies in the organisation. This definition has introduced the concept of ‘art’ which is about the soft skills of management, some of which might be a natural talent of some managers or acquired through specialised training. The use of the word ‘discover’ emphasises that effective recruitment is a process that involves exploration and that will require specialised methods and techniques, short of which no ‘discovery’ of potential people for the job can be made. Usually, recruitment and selection depends on the organisation’s policy guiding recruitment and selection as already noted in chapter 3. Noe et al. (2007) have added important policy issues that have to be considered during the planning of recruitment and selection that are linked to the organisation’s position in terms of a number of factors. These are for example, recruiting internal staff as opposed to external, the possibility of recruiting somebody who will be paid above the market rate, issues of job security and termination as well as the extent to which the organisation’s image should be portrayed in advertisements because this will influence the quality of job applicants and ultimately recruitment. There cannot be any recruitment and selection of employees without going through a process of exploring the organisation, the job to be filled, and the required person.

The recruitment and selection processes starts with organisational analysis. This is the process of evaluating the total organisation, its objectives, human resources, effectiveness and internal environment. The most useful data and information is obtained from the corporate strategic plan or human resource strategy if available. Other sources are monthly or quarterly reports, management meetings decisions, government policies and laws, market trends and global patterns.

The next step is job analysis. This is the process of analysing and listing the tasks that are included in the job, all the steps taken to perform the different tasks and all the requirements the respective tasks put upon the jobholder. The data on the nature of the job and requirements can be obtained from the available human resource manuals, job descriptions, making enquiries from departmental and section managers or supervisors, the person doing the job and moving around to observe how the job is done.

The final step is individual analysis. This involves performance appraisal of individuals doing the job in order to compare individual knowledge, skills and competence requirements in relation to the job objectives and possible potential for development.

Job description and person specification

The output of job analysis is the job description and specification. Job description is a process of describing the job to be performed. The main contents are the job purpose and the job tasks and responsibilities. A sample of job description template is given in Table 5.1 but in order to get the real picture of a classical job description format and contents drawn from a very successful private company in Tanzania, see Appendix 5.1.

Table ;  A sample of job description form

Job specification involves a definition of qualifications, experiences and competencies required by the jobholder and any other necessary information on the special demands made by the job such as physical conditions, unusual hours or travel away from home. Job specification sets out terms and conditions of employment such as pay, employee benefits, leave etc. Table gives an example of a person specification template.

Table ;  A sample of person specification form

Recruitment and selection process

Managers responsible for recruitment and selection should be clear on the type of employees they are looking for. Lack of clarity may lead to poor selection criteria and may result in the wrong person being recruited for the job. Based on research, Bates et al. (2008) have linked job requirement and the level of the quality of the job as presented in Table.

Table ; The relationship between competencies and job quality

The data in the table suggests that what matters most in terms of the quality of the job are motivation and attitude of the work followed by technical skills. The argument is that a demotivated employee may produce poorer quality work when compared to motivated staff with a positive attitude towards work. Indeed, the level of qualifications and experience rank lower than expected. However, searching for a combination of various attributes from job applicants is what should be the focus of employers.

Attracting candidates

Attracting candidates is primarily a matter of identifying, evaluating and using the most appropriate sources for getting applicants. However, in cases where there are difficulties in getting the right applicants, there might be a need to conduct organisational analysis. It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your organisation including reputation, pay, and employee benefits and working conditions, attractiveness of the job, location, security of employment, career prospects, etc.

Sources of applicants

As a matter of principle, applicants within the organisation should be given an equal opportunity to compete with external applicants for any post that becomes vacant. The methods that are used for recruitment include advertisements, the use of recruitment agencies and consultants, executive search consultants, internet and educational establishments. The method used will depend on experience, time available, resources, nature of the organisation and the job.

 Sorting out applications

The normal procedure to sort out applications is as follows:

· All applicants are listed in a standard control sheet.

· Each component of the application criteria is awarded a point.

· There should be weighting and ranking of the applicants according to points scored.

· Short listing those qualifying for an interview.

· Preparing an interview programme.

· Inviting interviewees using a standard letter. Inform those who did not qualify.